How To Cram Two School Curriculums In One Year
by st.jimmy.987
Summary: In which Tavros is cajoled into joining his school Academic Decathlon team and is put under more stress in one school year than any student has a right to due to constant studying and one Gamzee Makara.
1. Chapter 1

"You, uh, you want me for what?" Tavros Nitram cringed back slightly when Vriska Serket, his best enemy, threw her arm around his shoulders and pulled him firmly against her side. Her sapphire blue eyes shone in mischief, and a wide grin Tavros didn't really trust stretched across her lips.

"Join our AcaDec team!" She repeated loudly.

"What, uh, is AcaDec, exactly?" Tavros stammered slightly. Vriska sighed heavily in annoyance, shoving the boy away from her and grabbing his arm instead; she spun him around so that he was no longer walking and was instead facing her directly.

"It's a competition!" She announced with grandeur, using her other arm to emphasize her point. Her violent blue eyes were alit with passion and excitement, but also the little bit of craziness that kept Tavros in a semi-constant fear of her. "You get a topic, just one general time period, and you devote the entire year to learning every little thing you can about it. We learn about the artists, the musicians, the authors, everything. And then, during competition season, we compete against other AcaDec teams to prove which school is the better school!"

"Um, it just sounds like extra school work to me." Tavros made a face at the thought of more work piled on top of his school work. "Why would anyone want, uh, more school work?"

"The same reason people join any competitive team!" Vriska shook him slightly. "For friends! For glory! For the ability to defeat rival school and rub their faces in the dirt with your superiority!"

"But, uh, you have no proof that you'd even win anything." Tavros pointed out. Vriska took a deep breath, her hand tightening painfully on his arm, and he backpedaled quickly in case she decided to get more violent than just shaking him. He hated it when she gave him bruises; they always lasted for weeks and they were impossible to explain to Rufio. "I wasn't aware that we even had a team for, um, something like that."

"It's a fairly new team." She said through clenched teeth. Her body was tensed, and Tavros was hoping that talking about her team would prevent her from doing him any bodily harm. "It just started about two years ago." Vriska sniffed slightly in disdain, but it seemed to work; she relaxed and shook his arm again, pleadingly this time. "We really need a few new members. C'mon, Tavvie, it'll be fun!" Tavros winced at the nickname, but he knew how this was going to end. He sighed heavily, his shoulders dropping in defeat.

"Fine." He sighed. Vriska squealed and released his arm, punching it squarely before she turned and bolted. Tavros winced again and rubbed his arm where she hit him. He watched her as she left, wondering how much he'd regret letting her talk him into something like this.

The next morning, Tavros stood with another boy, Sollux Captor, in front of eleven others in a classroom. Tavros yawned, hiding behind his oversized black sweatshirt; he had woken up late, not used to having to be at school at 7:05 in the morning, and didn't have time to properly dress. Half of what he wore was his older brother Rufio's, which meant it was too big for Tavros and hung off his body. While the too-big sweatshirt was fine, his pants were also too big. His hand was wrapped firmly around his belt loop, holding the loose jeans up on his slim frame.

"So," Karkat crossed his arms, sniffing disdainfully. He was leaning on the desk, watching the two of them critically. "You morons are the two new fuckasses joining our stupid ass AcaDec team?" Karkat Vantas was the shortest kid in their grade, just barely hitting five feet, but sometimes Tavros forgot that due to the sheer volume of his voice. The boy had no concept of an inside voice, which meant his words were we other shouted or screamed out, depending on how pissed off he was. At the moment though, he looked almost as tired as Tavros felt, slowly getting to his feet and yawning widely behind a packet of paper. "Do you morons know anything about AcaDec?"

"You didn't tell me anything, just to be here at 7." Sollux crossed and then uncrossed his arms, squirming uncomfortably by Tavros. Captor seemed twitchy, his fingers working by his sides in random and rolling patterns. "Unless this kid got more outta VK than I did outta you, we're shit outta luck." Karkat glowered at him and then at the ceiling, as if he was praying for patience.

Then he started pacing the floor in front of Tavros and Sollux, staring at them both critically. Tavros squirmed uncomfortably in his clothes, not used to the amount of scrutiny Karkat was watching him with. Vriska didn't even glare at him so potently, and she hated him half the time!

Sollux didn't seem to mind; his fingers twitched every now and then, brushing up against Tavros's as they did so. He seemed tired as well, but for a different reason: everyone who knew Sollux knew that he liked to stay up with no sleep when he started working on some computer project. Tavros wondered how long the other boy had been up for and what was so important Sollux would abandon something as wonderful as sleep.

"We recruited you two fuckasses to be in our Varsity section of our team." He informed them loudly.

"Varsity?" Tavros perked up a bit at that, trying to force the drowsiness out of his voice. He rubbed his eye, trying to focus. "That's, uh, good, right?"

"Yes, it is." Karkat responded, making Tavros wince because Vantas had gotten right in his face to say it. His drowsiness chased away to Karkat's immense satisfaction, the Vantas nodded once and crossed his arms. "It is, because we already have everything else filled up." He marched over to the white board and pulled open a black marker.

"Do we really need a diagram?" Sollux whined, looking behind him longingly at the desk where Feferi and Eridan were seated. "Can't we sit down first?"

"Shut the fuck up, Captor." Karkat snapped without turning around. He stood up on his toes and wrote 'Honors', 'Scholastic', and 'Varsity' as high as he could on one board. On another, he wrote the words 'Academic Decathlon'. Underlining each of those, Karkat turned around and shot them a quick glare to be sure they were paying attention. "This is how Academic Decathlon works, so pay attention!"

Academic Decathlon was just that: a decathlon. They had ten subjects to compete in, including a speech, an essay, and an interview along with their other subjects. Every year they were given a general topic to cover all of the usual school subjects. Last year's topic was Ancient China; this year's was the Great Depression. Karkat wrote each subject on the board: Art, Economics, Essay, Interview, Language and Literature, Mathematics, Music, Speech, Science, and Social Science. Each test was about fifty questions, except mathematics which was thirty-five, and would take a half hour each. Karkat added two lines to 'Speech', writing 'Impromptu' on one and 'Prepared' to the other. A line was added to Science with the words 'Super Quiz/Public Humiliation'. He also drew a line towards Language and Literature and wrote out a book- - -The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinback. They all had to purchase the book, as they were going to be using it for the majority of the year; Karkat demanded that they give him at least twenty dollars so that he could go buy the book if they were too lazy to go to the damn bookstore themselves. Interviews were something they would help each other with, as that was something that would vary from person to person, and for the three-and-a-half to four minute speech they had to write their own speeches.

"What, um, what kind of speech?" Tavros asked, his voice squeaking at the end when Karkat glared at him for interrupting.

"Any kind of speech you want!" Vriska answered from the back. Karkat spluttered in fury when Sollux and Tavros turned around, but they ignored him when she kept talking. "As long as it's an original speech that no one else has used, it can be about anything you want. You can make it funny, informative- - -last year, someone did a speech about bacon!" The whole class laughed, something that was cut down when Sollux pointed at the board.

"What is an impromptu speech?" He asked, his brows furrowed over his red and blue glasses.

"Impromptus are the worst!" Eridan whined, draping himself over Feferi dramatically; Tavros would have laughed if it wasn't for the fact that everyone around him shuddered in mock horror as well. "You go to the room and they'll give ya a choice of three topics. Ya gotta choose one, and then you have about a minute or so to pull a minute-and-a-half to two minute speech out of your ass."

"What?" Tavros squeaked at the same time Sollux rolled his eyes and muttered "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No, we're not." Karkat thundered back, bringing attention back to him. "We'll help with those too, all right, keep your damn pants on." He glowered at the rest of the team behind Sollux and Tavros. "Now, if you morons are done interrupting, I'd like to fucking finish."

Super Quiz usually varied between Science and Social Science. Since it alternated between the two from year to year, this year was Science. They had a written portion of the test, which was forty questions that were completed with the rest of the subject tests. The last ten questions was where the Public Humiliation came in.

"What, exactly, is 'Public Humiliation'?" Sollux interrupted this time, though Karkat seemed almost please at the thought of explaining.

"We all get piled into the auditorium of wherever we are, and each section of the team," here he pointed at the other whiteboard, "goes one by one. They ask a question, you've got around seven seconds to bubble in your answer, and then they tell you the answer."

"And, uh, how is that Public Humiliation?" Tavros stammered out. Karkat grinned with his teeth and Tavros shrank back into his sweatshirt.

"If you get your answer right, you wave your pencil in the air. Like so." Karkat capped his marker quickly and twirled it in a graceful circle. "So everyone knows what answers you get right and what answers you get wrong."

"That doesn't seem so bad." Sollux scoffed, crossing his arms and smirking. "I think you guys are being a bunch of fucking pussies if that's all it takes to get under your skin."

"Sollux!" Tavros squeaked in horror.

"It's ok, Tavros." A voice rang out. Tavros peeked to his side and met the baby blue eyes of one of the guys on the team: John Egbert. John smiled at him kindly before looking at Sollux. "It's not so bad when it's just us and we're practicing." John admitted from his spot by Dave. The coolkid shrugged one shoulder when everyone looked at him and John, but Egbert kept talking. He was looking a little bit faint, though it probably had more to do with what he was saying and less from the absolute murderous glare Karkat was sending him from the front of the room. "But with all the other competing teams looking and watching you, as well as laughing whenever you get a question wrong..."

"Not to mention," Dave cut in coolly, just when Tavros started paling as well at the thought of what John said, "the Super Quiz Relay is the only part of the test that's open to the public."

"Hence, Public Humiliation." Karkat finished triumphantly. Tavros shook lightly; Sollux tensed up, his fingers turning white where he gripped his arms. "Not to mention, the two in each category who get the most answers right are the two whose tests go towards the collective score of the team."

"How do we know who's in what category of the team?" Sollux asked, motioning to the nearly empty whiteboard.

"That's due to our GPA." Karkat switched boards, sliding the 'Academic Decathlon' one over to the left and dragging the other one closer. "Honors is a GPA of 3.75-4.0. Our Honors section consists of Ampora, Egbert, and Gamzee." The three names went went alphabetically by last name under the 'Honors' category, while the GPA was written at the top by the word. Karkat moved slightly to his left, continuing onto 'Scholastic'. "GPAs of 3.0-3.74 is Scholastic; that's Vriska, Strider, and Equius." Karkat turned when he got to Varsity, making sure that Sollux and Tavros understood where they stood in the team hierarchy. "We'll make up the Varsity team. That's the GPA of 0-2.99." He wrote their names down, starting with Sollux's and ending with his own, and turned to face them again. His explanation was met with quiet applause from the rest of the team, but stunned silence from the two he was explaining to.

"Wait, I was recruited for what?" Sollux raged at his best friend, his fists clenched and his face twisting in a snarl. Karkat threw his marker at Sollux, hitting the other boy in the chest as he yelled at him. Tavros winced as the volume escalated in his ear, but shot his own weak glare at Vriska. He couldn't believe it; yes, his grades weren't the best but he didn't need a team that would rub it in his face. The girl beamed at him and waggled her fingers in response, leaning back in her seat and letting her hair splay out all over Eridan's desk behind her. The Honors student spluttered angrily, much to the amusement of Feferi and Sollux; she giggled, hiding her face behind her hand and he snorted, breaking his glare at Karkat.

"We needed you two nook sniffers because your grades literally suck ass even though you're supposedly intelligent as fuck." Karkat snapped back, crossing his arms as glaring at Sollux and Tavros. Tavros winced again; it seemed that Karkat was holding back during his explanation, but now that he was done, his language was back in full force. When Sollux didn't return his attention to his best friend, Karkat reached out and whacked him soundly on his side; Sollux winced and turned on him. "We need more Varsity students. I can't be in a team all by myself."

"I bet you could be if you tried." Sollux teased, already over his indignity at being placed in Varsity. "And besides, I'm not 'supposedly intelligent', I'm totally way smarter than you." Karkat shouted something unintelligible back at him, but Tavros wasn't paying attention; his eyebrows furrowed, the Nitram was looking at the subjects they had to study.

"This is, um, almost like another curriculum." Tavros pointed out. It interrupted Sollux's and Karkat's banter, drawing attention to him again. Tavros flushed but kept talking. "How, uh, when are we supposed to study all of this?"

"Competition season doesn't start until around February or so." Karkat continued his explanation. "Which means we have until then to learn all this material." He switched whiteboards again, pulling a blank one towards him and re-writing all the topics out. Adding lines to all of them this time, Karkat began writing down dates. "We get packets for these; we'll study them one at a time, for a week. We'll read a section of a packet every night and take quizzes every day for each part that we read. The one we need to study the most is Super Quiz, so we'll start with Science first." He glared over his shoulder to find any objections; finding none, he continued. "Essay we'll have to spend another week tackling; we'll use essay prompts from the USAD website to help with that."

"And speeches?" Sollux asked casually.

"Speeches you fuckasses need to be working on starting now." Karkat whirled around and pointed at Vriska, Gamzee, Eridan, John, and Dave. "You lot of losers were either on the team or in the class with me last year. All of you should have at least one speech done." He glared at them until they all admitted that they did, in fact, have a speech done; Gamzee was the only one who admitted having one right away with a careless wave and honking laugh that made Tavros jump about five feet in the air.

"And, uh, i-impromptus?" Tavros asked quietly. Karkat turned his dark eyes to him, but Tavros was staring at the floor. He scuffed the toe of his sneaker against the floor, his brow furrowed as he debated the merits of joining the team.

"Impromptus we work on in class." Karkat said slowly, glaring suspiciously at Tavros. "We'll work on them once a day, after we discuss the packets."

"I'm in." Sollux decided loudly. Tavros jumped and watched out of the corner of his eye as the taller boy turned on his heel. He high-fived Gamzee as he passed him, flipped Vriska off with his other hand, and collapsed on the seat beside Feferi. The girl smiled proudly and ruffled his hair, Eridan glaring at the both of them out of the corner of his eye. Karkat clapped once, the sound echoing in the room.

"Good on ya, asshole!" He yelled. Tavros managed a small smile, one that was wiped away when Karkat turned to face him with a set glare. "And you?"

"W-Well, I..." Tavros stammered, eyes wide as everyone turned to look at him. Sollux began shouting encouragement, followed shortly by Feferi and Vriska. Karkat threw an eraser, then another marker when they wouldn't shut up; despite the oncoming projectiles they kept their words of encouragement up. It was probably because Karkat had absolutely horrible aim and both eraser and marker flew harmlessly over everyone's heads. Tavros felt his hands clench, turning his head sharply to the side when he felt a gentle touch on the top of his hand.

Gamzee smiled lazily up at him, his fingers tapping lightly on Tavros' hand.

"Hey, motherfucker." He said quietly. "We could really do to have you on our motherfucking team, y'know?"

"Seriously, Tavros." Karkat said gruffly, crossing his arms. "We don't have time to find another person. We're behind schedule as it is because we couldn't get recruits at the end of last year like we hoped. We need you." He squirmed uncomfortably when he said it; Tavros sent him a small smile to settle him. Vantas hated admitting he needed help, even when he was asking for the sake of his team and not himself.

"C'mon, motherfucker." Gamzee dragged Tavros's eyes back down to him when he spoke. Tavros flushed darkly, but Gamzee ignored it and swung their hands slightly. "It'll be all kinds of bitchtits awesome."

"I...all right." He conceded, glancing pitifully at Vriska when she let out a loud whoop. He moved to sit next to her, but Gamzee tightened his grip on his hand and pulled him into the seat next to him. Too afraid to pull away from the Makara, Tavros allowed himself to be manhandled.

The loud slap of papers hitting the wood of the desk made him jump; Tavros looked down as Karkat strode down the desks to dump another huge packet on Sollux's desk. In unison, both boys groan at the size.

"What the fuck is this?" Sollux demanded.

"This is what we're learning this week." Karkat snapped. "Super Quiz is at the top. Start reading, fuckasses."


	2. Chapter 2

Filler chapter is filler. XD haha

Also, first review! XD Solluxander, I am glad you like this enough to want to read more. XD hopefully I'll be able to live up to your expectations in later chapters. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

XXXX

"Hey, Fefurri, watch this!" Nepeta abandoned her normal post by Equius, dragging another blonde girl by the arm over to where Feferi, Eridan, and Sollux were huddled; Tavros watched her pass in front of him, recognizing the blonde as she did so. Rose Lalonde followed the over eager brunette willingly; though Nepeta's shout caught both Feferi and Sollux's attention, Eridan forced himself to turn up the music on his iPod and focus on the Music packet in front of him.

"God dammit, you useless high asshole!" Karkat's screams came at the same time Nepeta sat down to explain something to Feferi. Tavros tilted his head in time to watch Karkat deliver a sound blow to Gamzee's side, though the Makara let out a loud laugh and ruffled Vantas's hair. The Varsity student bristled appropriately, shouting out louder obscenities as he waved the Music packet wildly in the air.

"You need to all up and calm down, motherfucker." Gamzee breathed out easily, closing his eyes and slipping a couple of pills into his mouth as he reclined in his seat. Karkat slapped him in the face with the packet, but Gamzee didn't do much more than open one eye halfway to focus on his best friend.

"How in the fucking hell do you think- - -"

"Oh, my god, Kanaya, are you serious?" Vriska's obnoxious laugh came from behind Tavros, followed by the gentle, soothing murmur of Kanaya's voice. John's voice sounded absently from beside Tavros' distracting him yet again as the Honors student whispered every other word as he read. His clear eyes were focused on the words before him, soaking up the information as best as he could. Dave sat on John's other side, shades on as always, the tinted glasses making it impossible to see where his eyes were. Nonetheless, his hands were in the air playing imaginary timetables as he rapped the Music packet.

The loud noises in an otherwise serious setting put Tavros at ease slightly as he focused back onto the Music packet. It had been about a month of meeting in the morning and during all their breaks, and Tavros was beginning to get the hang of the AcaDec curriculum. It was hard, partly because Tavros had been right: it was an extra amount of school work on top of his homework. He had to work through all his homework right when he got home, ad then he had to read the pages of the packet assigned to them. In all honesty, it wasn't much; Tavros had assumed, with Karkat taking over as a team leader despite being in Varsity, that the work would be harder. Instead, Karkat would assign around ten pages to read along with their speech writing. They were moving through the packets at a decent pace, though Karkat seemed to assign the work at a different rate; they started out with Science because it was the Super Quiz subject, then moved onto Social Science and Art. They just started on the Music packet two days before, though Karkat had the beginnings of a habit Tavros knew he was going to hate: he would add ten pages of Science to re-read along with the pages they needed to learn.

It also had taken Tavros almost a month to get comfortable with everyone that was always in the AcaDec classroom. He had been something of a loner in his freshman year, the kid that blended into the wall until Vriska decided to pull him into the spotlight with her viciousness. Then he was anyone's game, bullied until everyone had forgotten him once again. Though he hated the pattern, he hadn't been too sure on how to break the cycle and had therefore resigned himself to going through the same treatment again in his sophomore year. When he had been recruited for AcaDec, Tavros hadn't expected much to change other than his amount of homework.

He was wrong.

It seemed that everyone decided to have a shot at getting to know Tavros. Sollux would appear out of nowhere with Eridan and Feferi, walking with him as they entered the school to go to class. He could be standing in line for lunch, staying out of people's way with his small stature and thin frame, only to be joined by Dave and John when they would appear out of thin air. Nepeta waved at him when she passed him in the hallways, Equius on one side and her girlfriends on the other. Kanaya would sit with him in whatever class they shared, giving him a little bit of help without raising his GPA over the 2.99 mark. Karkat developed Dave's habit of appearing out of nowhere, demanding to see Tavros's speech. Gamzee would lope after him in the hall, trapping Tavros in bear hugs and conversations that didn't always make sense.

Then again, not much of anything Gamzee did made any sense. He took his pills, something that made Tavros a bit uncomfortable but nobody seemed to care about it. He smelled weird, like he was constantly smoking weed, and his eyes kept this near vacant look all the time. It worried Tavros immensely, but he didn't know how to bring it up without being insensitive or rude. But Gamzee's face always lit up whenever he saw Tavros, and he would rush over so quickly that he'd be shoving students out of his way to talk to him. He was so tall compared to Tavros, the Varsity student noticed, but Gamzee would always bend down to make eye contact as best as he could.

It would fluster Tavros at first, especially since Makara was so tall and daunting, but as the days passed Gamzee made no move to do anything more than hug him and ruffle Tavros's mohawk. Once it dawned on Tavros that Gamzee wouldn't do anything else, he began relaxing around him. Every once in a while, Tavros would run up to him; the look of surprise and pure happiness lighting up Gamzee's face always made Tavros feel special and worth something. His hugs would be extra tight, and they would last longer if the small Nitram approached him first. Without realizing it, Tavros began keeping an active eye out for Gamzee, searching for the tall Makara through the students in the hallway. He grew much closer to Gamzee than anyone else in the team, the two beginning to spend any time they could together. Tavros could tell it annoyed Vriska when he would politely turn down her invitation to hang out with her in order to study with Gamzee, but he couldn't help but be drawn to Makara.

Despite the team's dynamics and how close everyone seemed, Tavros learned that almost half the team this year was new. Vriska, Karkat, and Gamzee had been on the team the year before, and everyone but them had either graduated or dropped from the team; it left them in a bind, forcing them to rush around to get recruits. John had followed Karkat, dragging Dave and Eridan with him, but they hadn't been able to get on the team until this year. They had done the work, reading the packets, writing speeches, holding mock impromptus and interviews, but they hadn't been doing anything other than training for this year.

Nepeta had heard from Gamzee and Karkat about needing new members, and had approached Equius about the idea; he agreed to try it out for a year, taking up a spot in Scholastic easily. Sollux, though, had to be approached a second time. The first year, Karkat tried to force him to join and Sollux had stopped talking to him for almost a month until Vantas dropped it. This time, Eridan and Feferi helped Karkat encourage Sollux, and he agreed to try it out.

Despite the added recruits, the team dynamic hadn't changed much.

Dave and John, the two quietly studying for once, were both ironically and un-ironically dating. Dave was a self proclaimed coolkid, never taking off his shades and keeping his straight poker face at all times. He was musically inclined, apparently, something that he proved by one day bringing in a guitar and performing an acoustic version of "Bei Mir Bistu Shön" for John; on top of that, he was always rapping the important parts of their study guides as if it would help them remember the information better.

John, on the other hand, was something of a dork. He was clumsy and bright, his smile always wide. Though he hadn't actually been on the AcaDec team the year previous, he'd been in the class and he knew how to push himself and his teammates to study. A bit on the naive side, John thought the best of everyone around him. He was friendly, but he enjoyed playing pranks on the people surrounding him. Tavros, shy as he was, managed to get close to him after John offered him a piece of gum and Tavros had an electric shock go through his fingers that effectively numbed his appendages.

Dave would watch him pull his pranks without breaking his facade, always close by so John could throw his arms around his neck and plant a kiss on the coolkid's cheek. Despite their obviously polar opposite personalities, Dave was obviously the best match for John; they simultaneously pushed each other when it came to studying, though John pushed Dave a bit more.

Nepeta, Feferi, Terezi, and Kanaya were not actually on the team or even in the class, but they often were there the most.

Terezi would tease Karkat mercilessly about his grades and position in the team, which resulted in the loudest screams and insults from the shorter Vantas. She couldn't see, a disability she'd had since birth she told Tavros when they met, so it sent weird chills up his spine at how easily she moved around. Somehow, Terezi knew how many people were in a room with her, and even who was around her. Her grins were wide and sharp, and she would swing her cane around when she wasn't using it. She was very pretty, and Karkat's eyes always watched her whenever she walked into the classroom. He didn't seem to want to do anything about asking her out, though, his attention always returning to the pamphlet as if it was a lifeline for him to hold onto.

Kanaya would take up a post next to Vriska, and the two girls would spend their time whispering to each other. She had spoken to Tavros a couple of times, and he had warmed to her much quicker than he had to anyone in the class. Her voice was soft and soothing, and she always held herself highly without appearing to look down on anyone. Every once in a while, like this morning, her friend Rose would join them. Rose was quiet and gothic, with a love of magic that sparked many fights with Eridan. Vriska teased Kanaya mercilessly about talking to Tavros, but she would completely ignore Rose when she came, something that Kanaya would silence or stop with a simple look. Every morning, no matter how annoyed she was with Vriska, the elegant girl would bring in a bunch of cloth and she would spend her time sewing as Vriska read over the packet she'd gotten for the day.

Feferi, Tavros learned, was Eridan's stepsister. Their parents had married when the two were about four or five, so they lived a majority of their lives together. They were only a couple of months apart, and they were fiercely loyal and protective of each other. The two of them had their own inside jokes, were avid lovers of sea and sea life, and used fish puns whenever they could.

Eridan Ampora was haughty and disdainful, something that kept Tavros away from him at first. He would sneer at Tavros's clothes, and picked fights with Sollux about they way he lived. Tavros was wary of him until a week into AcaDec studying; he had been walking to the library to get a book when he spotted Eridan eating lunch alone. He'd geared himself up, mustering as much courage as he could and approached him with the intention of greeting the Honors student; surprisingly, they'd ended up having a nice lunch time and though he was still pompous, Eridan turned out to be very vulnerable. He was surprisingly insecure, something Tavros found when lunch ended and Eridan stammered out an offer to pay Tavros to be his friend. He declined, of course, and Eridan's face had fallen for the briefest moment before Tavros added that he'd be Eridan's friend for free. Feferi had beamed brightly the next morning when Tavros joined them, sitting on the other side of her stepbrother.

Feferi, on the other hand, was bubbly and nice, though she had a hidden cruel streak that Tavros spotted when a couple of boys had been picking on Eridan and Sollux. In the classroom, though, she was nothing but friendly. It still brought a violent blush to Tavros's face when she threw her arms around him in a hug whenever she saw him. She would huddle with him and Sollux while they studied, playing mediator when Eridan acted too much like a high end douchebag or Sollux was exhausted from three nights with no sleep and purposefully picking a physical fight with him.

Nepeta, Equius and Gamzee were by far the most complicated. Nepeta was there for both males, though in different ways: she appeared to have a special interest in Gamzee and be Equius' best friend and advisor. The buff Scholastic student would put up with her cat puns, borderline ADD bubbly personality; when he wasn't studying, he would role play with her. At the same time, Nepeta would quiz him mercilessly on his topic of choice and seemed to have an endless supply of towels on her to combat his almost constant sweating.

Gamzee and Nepeta, though, had a different relationship. Though he would offer, like he did with everyone every morning, Nepeta would refuse his pills or his weed with a curtness only Karkat held for him. She didn't seem to mind the constant smell of being high Gamzee would produce, and would snuggle into his side like a cat. Nepeta brought him lunch, and stuck around to make sure he'd eaten all of it as if she was personally tasked with watching over him. She would subdue herself just a little around the Makara, asking questions that were more personal than anything else; they giggled and shared personal gossip, and she would kiss his cheek every time she came or went.

Tavros found out from Gamzee why during an interview practice about a week ago: Nepeta was Gamzee's niece.

Her mother, Meulin Leijon, had been around sixteen when she'd gotten pregnant. She had been dating Gamzee's older brother at the time, and they'd been simultaneously ecstatic and terrified. Kurloz, Gamzee's older brother, had told his parents what happened, and they offered their support to him and Meulin. His mother had been ecstatic, even, having been a couple of months pregnant with Gamzee at the time. Encouraged, the young couple had brought it to Meulin's mother's attention.

That had been the wrong to do, a huge error on their part; Meulin's mother had been furious and had gone into a rage-induced violence. She'd attacked her daughter, managing to do extensive damage to the surprised teen, and Kurloz had somehow managed to get between the two long enough to get Meulin away. Meulin never went back to her mother, and Nepeta had never met her maternal grandmother despite being a doted grandchild.

However, Kurloz had taken too long to save his girlfriend, and she'd ended up in the hospital due to the injuries she'd gotten. Meulin ended up all right, as had Nepeta, but injuries to her head had caused her hearing to fade away while in the hospital and it had never come back. Kurloz, filled with regret at not being able to help her sooner, had shut himself in his room for the rest of her pregnancy until the day she had given birth to Nepeta.

Kurloz had reappeared then, ready to be a part if his daughter's life. However, his guilt was so great that Kurloz couldn't bring himself to say anything to Meulin, knowing she would never be able to hear him again. He'd taken up silence and sign language, and they'd bought an apartment together near his parents' house. Nepeta grew up in a silent Leijon-Makara household with loving parents and no voice but her own to echo in its depths.

"Hello, Tavros." Rose appeared suddenly, Nepeta mewing and waving behind her. Tavros jumped, not expecting the blonde so suddenly, and guiltily tore his eyes from where he was just staring blankly at the Music packet. Cripes, he wasn't even studying, Karkat would kill him if he wasn't currently- - -Tavros glanced discreetly- - -reading the Music packet aloud in a loud, sarcastic voice with expletives dropping between every alternative word.

"Good morning, Rose." Tavros smiled weakly at her, which prompted a minuscule upturn of her own lips. He relaxed some more around Kanaya's friend, turning to avoid Karkat see his lack of study. "How are you?"

"Oh, hey, Rose!" The blonde girl's attention was momentarily directed to John, and Nepeta pounced on her chance.

"Tavrrrrows, guess what?" Nepeta cut in excitedly, prompting Tavros to smile wider at the strange way Nepeta said his name. She loved making cat noises, something which stumped her teachers and made her friends laugh. It fit with her cat loving personality, though Karkat always pitched some sort of fit when she rubbed his hair and called him 'Karkitty'.

"What's up, Nep?" Tavros responded.

"Rose has tarot cards!" She purred in response. Rose looked away from John and held up the cards for proof.

"I was offering my services." She said monotonously. "Though Feferi seems to be the only one to take my readings seriously." Rose shuffled the cards slowly, her dark fingernails blending into the dark background of the cards. Her eyes, a strange lavender, met and held Tavros's brown compellingly. "Would you like me to read your tarot, Tavros?"

"Well, uh, I..." Tavros cast his eyes away with some difficulty, glancing around for help. Rose was nice, but she was more Kanaya's friend and she gave him the creeps. He tried to stay polite around her, but they only really spoke in passing.

"God dammit!" Karkat stomped over and pointed an accusing finger at Rose. "Lalonde, fuck off. Nitram needs to fucking study." Her eyes moved over to Karkat's, though she kept shuffling.

"As you wish." She replied softly, standing up. "Come, Nepeta, let us see what the cards will hold for Vriska and Kanaya." Nepeta pouted, but waved at Tavros and followed her easily.

Tavros watched them go for only a moment; Karkat's fist connected with his arm and he yelped, spinning around in his seat and staring at the fuming Vantas with wide brown eyes.

"Whoa, motherfucker, chill." Gamzee placed a firm hand on Karkat's shoulder; he seemed to be very averse to anyone picking on Tavros, even Vriska or Karkat, and always came to his rescue if he could. Tavros grinned at Gamzee thankfully.

"Chill my ass." Karkat snapped. He sniffed, shrugging off Gamzee's hand and crossing his arms. "Just fucking study, Nitram. We need you to fucking remember as much of this shit as you fucking can." He pointed at Tavros, his finger pressing against his nose gently. Tavros leaned back, staring at the offending appendage cross eyes. "Next time, just tell Lalonde to fuck off."

Tavros nodded quickly; Karkat seemed to accept the response he got and dragged Gamzee away to continue reading. Tavros watched them go and wondered, not for the first time, exactly what he had gotten himself into.


	3. Chapter 3

Next chapter yay! XD haha sorry it took so long. I tend to work on my stories as a whole rather than chapter by chapter. XD haha

Solluxander: yay! XD I'm glad that I did ok for that chapter. XD I felt bad about the Meulin/Kurloz thing, though. Poor Nep. Thank you for reading and reviewing though! XD

Namae: a new reviewer! XD I'm glad you like my story! Thank you for reviewing! XD

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"All right, fuckasses, this is the moment we've all been fucking around for." Karkat stood in front of the whiteboard with his arms crossed and a dark look on his face. Sollux stopped teasing Eridan; Vriska shot a bored glance at the front of the room from where she was reading. The whole room was paying attention to the self proclaimed team leader, who stood with John and Dave by his side.

"We've officially been challenged to our first scrimmage of the year." Dave intoned. His shades hid his face as always, but Tavros noticed how his lips were pressed into a thin line when he finished speaking. John placed his hand on the blonde's arm, looking slightly worried, but Dave seemed to not notice the comforting gesture. Annoyance made his body stiff, even if it didn't show on his face. "The Alpha kids decided to mess with us."

"You mean the Alpha team from Prospit?" Feferi asked, her face scrunching slightly. Eridan bared his teeth, and even Nepeta made this weird hissing noise. "The private school?" Dave nodded once, curtly, and Feferi sank in her seat. She shared a glance with Eridan, who began looking miserable. Karkat watched the three stew in misery for a few minutes before snarling quietly and slamming his hand on the board.

"Something you assholes want to share with the fucking class?" Karkat snapped, looking at them all with irritation.

Feferi looked worried, biting her lip as she wrung her hands.

"Alpha team is one of the teams that have been around for quite some time." She said quietly when it became clear that nobody was going to speak up. "My older sister and Eridan's older cousin are on the team."

"My old furriend is on that team." Nepeta hissed again. The sound from her mouth sounded weird on the normally cheerful girl, and it more than anything made Tavros nervous. Nepeta looked furious, her face twisting slightly in anger. "Aradia Megido."

"Is that where she's gone?" Sollux cut in suddenly; his face was distorted as well, but he didn't seem too mad. Instead, there was a hurt look on his face and in his voice. Nepeta rounded on him, but her dark glare softened into something like pity when she saw the look on his face.

"As fascinating as this is," Vriska interrupted loudly before Nepeta could speak, "what exactly happened to Megido after her suicide attempt isn't the most important thing." Sollux threw a pencil at her, his aim infinitely better than Karkat's; she just ducked it easily and the oncoming projectile flew over her head harmlessly. "What we should be asking is this." Vriska's eyes took a manic gleam, her fingers digging into the wood of her desk. Tavros uneasily remembered her comment about rubbing their competitor's faces in dirt when she was convincing him to join his first day. Suddenly, he wasn't so sure it was just an expression. "How long is 'quite some time'?" Vriska asked, leaning on her desk and smiling ferally. Feferi smiled back shakily, looking nervous because of the way Vriska was watching her.

"Well," she said slowly. "Meenah's been on the team since she was a freshman, and she's a senior now. And their coach, he had been on the team until he graduated about twenty years ago."

"Fuck." Karkat hit the wall before stomping up to the board. He pulled the board with the team members and their sections toward him, drawing a line down the middle. On the side with their names, he wrote 'Alternia'; the other he titled 'Alpha'. "Just who's on this damn team?"

"Meenah and Cronus are in Honors." Feferi said apologetically. Karkat snarled as he wrote down their names, his writing messy and almost illegible.

"So's my bro." Dave bit out. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the board, completely ignoring John's attempts to talk to him. Each word he spit out was sharp, like he was reciting them from memory and he wasn't happy he knew the information. "Some chick named Crocker- - -Jane, or some shit- - -she's a Varsity. A Lalonde and an English for Scholastic." His lip curled up just the slightest in disdain when everyone turned to look at him.

"How the hell do you know all this?" Equius asked in slight awe. Dave shrugged one shoulder.

"My bro likes to brag." Karkat was writing furiously, lining up each student across from a student in their own team and category. His grip on the marker made his knuckles white, but he wasn't loosening his grip.

"Where the fuck's Megido?" He snapped, writing her name under Jane's when Nepeta answered. "That's fucking seven. Fucking seven." He whirled around and pointed an accusing finger at Dave, Nepeta, Feferi, and Eridan. "You nook sniffers find out who the hell else is on the team. You either find out tomorrow or tell me now, or so help me dammit- - -"

"Jade Harley." Feferi said slowly, her tongue slipping between her lips. Karkat wrote her name down, not noticing Feferi gain a cautious look on her face. Her voice came slowly, as if she was unwilling to talk but less willing to keep the information to herself; at the same time, it didn't seem like she knew how to say what she wanted gently. "Another Varsity. And then- - -"

"I thought you'da known about this, Kar." Eridan cut across his stepsister, making her frown darkly at him. She pushed on his shoulder, and he swatted her hand away. Terezi's eyes were wide behind her bright red shades, seeming to understand Feferi's unease in that weird way of hers, and she began to wave her hands around in Ampora's general area to warn him off. He ignored her and stared intently at Karkat. "Y'know, 'cause a Kankri." Karkat froze.

Tavros looked around with wide eyes, curious when the name came up. He wanted to ask aloud who Kankri was, but held his tongue when he saw the general reactions of the room. Dave had paled considerably, and he took a giant step to the side away from where Karkat was standing; John was pushed over with him, but Egbert seemed too focused on Karkat's shaking body to complain about the treatment. Sollux groaned loudly and buried his face in his hands, and Vriska inhaled quickly through her teeth. Nepeta mewled quietly and wrapped herself around Equius, who placed a slightly trembling hand on her head and began sweating. Feferi was glaring heavily at Eridan, who began realizing that he had said the wrong thing entirely. He looked uncertain of himself, drawing close to his stepsister. Terezi had stopped waving and instead buried her face in her arms, hiding behind them like barriers.

"Um..." Tavros whispered, leaning over to poke at Gamzee's shoulder. Makara tiled his head back to look at Tavros, his smile widening when he caught sight of him. He seemed to be the only one unaffected by Kankri's name, despite his closeness with Karkat, and that made Tavros hope asking Gamzee would be ok. The silence reigned, proving to him that if Gamzee couldn't or wouldn't answer him, nobody else would be willing to talk about it.

"Hey, motherfucker." Gamzee's smooth voice came out in a whisper, as if he was aware of how deathly silent the classroom was. His voice betrayed no anxiety, though, and Tavros wondered if Gamzee really had been paying attention. "What's up?"

"Um, who's Kankri?" Instead of answering, Gamzee reached over and pulled Tavros around the desk. He slid off his chair as well, landing on the floor comfortably. They hid below desks, Gamzee moving Tavros so that the much smaller Nitram was snuggled into his side, and began playing with the edge of Tavros's mohawk. Tavros was about to ask again when Karkat's voice sounded loudly, and he peered over the desk to see what would happen.

"What the fuck?" Karkat exploded loudly and threw the marker at Eridan. He hadn't even turned, but somehow it still managed to hit Ampora in the face; apparently Karkat had better aim when he wasn't looking. Eridan yelped and moved to cover the spot he'd been hit. Karkat whirled around; fury decorated his face and he was shaking visibly.

"No, he just meant- - -" Feferi tried to intervene, but Karkat ignored her as he marched up to Eridan's desk.

"Listen here, fuckass." He snarled. His voice dropped as he got into Eridan's personal space, and for some reason that frightened Tavros much more than Karkat's yelling voice. He nestled deeper into Gamzee, the Makara responding by wrapping his arm around Tavros's shoulder.

"KK- - -" Sollux tried, reaching out around Eridan. Karkat slapped his hand away, spewing out profanities at such a low volume nobody aside from Eridan and most likely Feferi could hear.

"Hey, motherfucker." Gamzee's quiet voice caught Tavros's attention again; loathed as he was to do so, the small Varsity pulled his eyes away from Karkat and Eridan to look at Gamzee.

"What?"

"I've all up and forgotten what Karbro was saying." He whispered. "What the motherfuck was he writing all up and on our motherfucking board?"

"That's the Alpha team." Tavros explained. Somehow, Gamzee's in attention brought a shy smile to his face; Tavros's amusement leaked into his voice as he whispered back. "They've challenged us, uh, to a scrimmage? Um. Something like that."

"Motherfucking miracles." Gamzee breathed. His eyes sharpened a bit and he sat up straighter. Tavros squeaked as he did so, but Gamzee appeared not to notice. "They got some pretty miraculous shame globes, then, to come out and motherfucking challenge us all on their lonesome."

"Shame globes?" Tavros repeated curiously. Gamzee ignored him, standing straight up and not even reacting when he hit his head on the underside of the desk. Tavros squeaked again as he was pulled up with Gamzee.

"We've all up and got to find a way to motherfucking destroy these motherfuckers!" Gamzee attracted everyone's attention, even Karkat's, and they had all turned to watch as Gamzee lifted a fist in the air. His other arm was kept securely around Tavros, and the Nitram was doing his best to stay hidden while Gamzee spoke. His eyes began getting a slightly wild look. "I say we all best be getting our motherfucking study on."

"Sit the fuck down." Karkat snapped, pushing Eridan away and stomping to the front of the room. Dave took his chance and grabbed John, absconding to a seat by Gamzee and Tavros instead of their usual spot by Feferi. John waved at Tavros sheepishly, but Dave kept his poker face aimed straight at Karkat. "It's just an unofficial fucking scrimmage. It's not even anytime soon. According to Strider here, we still have two fucking weeks."

"I say we all get our motherfucking study on at Kurloz's place." Gamzee continued, completely ignoring Karkat. Tavros wince apologetically when Vantas scowled; two weeks was a bit of time, but it was already October. They'd managed to get through pretty much everything, but they needed to study more to cement the information in. Gamzee's idea, while oddly worded, was exactly what they needed. "Fill that whole motherfucking place up with all our miraculous focus and mad reading skills."

"That's not pawsible just yet." Nepeta contradicted. Gamzee whirled around, taking Tavros with him still, and gave his niece a wounded expression. Nepeta shrugged, her face twisting a little apologetically.

"Aww, why not, kittysis?"

"Mama's remodeling." She said. "Just started. Our living room is already looking like the aftermewth of a hurricane." Gamzee visibly wilted, though he looked at Nepeta curiously.

"That why we've all up and got our motherfucking guest rooms all up and cleaned?" Nepeta nodded, smiling widely.

"Papa already sent a memo. We're staying ofurr until efurrything is finished." Nepeta smiled widely, and Gamzee smiled back at her.

"Bitchtits awesome." Gamzee pulled his hand down and reached into his pocket, pulling out his pill bottle and taking two out. He swallowed them dry, and sank down again as the pills took over. Tavros managed to move him into his seat, and Makara shot him a look that was mixed with surprise and gratefulness.

"So, um, where do we study?" Tavros asked. Gamzee's eyes clouded over slowly, and nobody seemed willing to offer a place. Tavros eyed everyone in the classroom, mentally checking to see how many people could fit in his house if he invited them over. He wasn't even sure who would come, really. There would be the team, of course; that was already nine. He didn't doubt that Feferi and Nepeta would come with them, as they seemed attached at the hip to their respective person. Terezi would probably find an excuse to stop by, and if Kanaya and Rose decided to show up as well, that would be fourteen people to worry about. Tavros could probably find a way to squeeze everyone in his house.

Then again, it was rather small; maybe a quarter of them could fit comfortably in the living room, and even less in his room. Not to mention having Rufio and his dad hovering over him and everyone else...

"We still have fucking time!" Karkat snapped from the front of the room, trying to regain everyone's attention. "Shut the hell up and let me plot out a fucking strategy!"

"You guys might as well come ofurr to Gamzee's place." Nepeta shot up, shooting an apologetic glance at Karkat when Vantas began spluttering angrily. Still, despite his half started sentences, Nepeta kept talking. "Evfurrybody's going to be there, and my mama can make some purrfectly delectable snacks!"

"Fine!" Karkat exploded, making Nepeta squeak and sit down again as well. Everybody watched as he wrote out Gamzee's address at the top of the whiteboard. "Fucking fine!" He turned around to face the classroom after underlining the address about five times. "Everybody write that shit down. We'll meet every Saturday at 12 to fucking study." He glowered at everyone, though Tavros was the only who shrank back from the dark glare. "And we will fucking study."

"Aye, aye, captain!" Vriska cheered dutifully for the team. Karkat twitched and glared, but turned back to the board. He wrote the date for the scrimmage in giant letters on top of the board: Saturday, October 23rd.

As he wrote, Tavros watched the team calm down. Confusion still littered his mind, but he was more afraid of what Karkat would say if he tried to bring it up again. Eridan and Feferi looked far too pale, though Feferi seemed to be recollecting herself better than her stepbrother. John and Dave had already pulled out their packets for Art and Music respectively, and effectively tuned out the rest of the class. Vriska was scribbling something down, though what it was, Tavros wasn't sure. Kanaya, who had come in while Karkat was hissing whatever it was at Eridan, seemed to sense that something wrong was said; she sat quietly besides Vriska and didn't say a word, merely pulled out a ball of yarn and began knitting quickly. Blinking and in a slight shock at Karkat's outburst, Tavros leaned down to dig in his bag for his _Grapes of Wrath_ book. He'd been struggling with it, not able to get past the first three chapters or so. It bothered him a lot more than it should, because he usually was such an avid reader; for whatever reason, though, whenever he started _Grapes of Wrath_, he found himself zoning out.

Karkat appeared by his bag suddenly, and Tavros squeaked in shock. He shot up and stared up into Karkat's angry scowl.

"Nitram. Speech." Tavros winced again and pulled his speech out from his bag. Working on his speech first thing in the morning was not something he wanted to do, but with Karkat still annoyed about what had just happened, Tavros felt he had no choice but to comply with the self-proclaimed team leader. With a dejected sigh and a wistful look at the crumpled paper, the Nitram handed his speech to Karkat.

It was harder than he thought to write a speech. It took him way too long to decide on a topic, and then he had to keep adding to it because it was too short. His first three and a half minute speech just barely made the time. When he showed it to Karkat, Vantas took it upon himself to read it in front of the whole class. And despite having witten it all by himself after a painstaking two weeks, Tavros's speech was promptly declared 'too boring' and was rejected by the whole class. The second was written with the help of Feferi and Nepeta, who had taken enough pity on him that they decided to give him some ideas. It hadn't gone over much better than the first, but Karkat said that it was almost there before deciding that he would just help him himself. He'd given him ideas on what to write about and helped Tavros word certain things, but as it was barely finished the night before, Vantas hadn't had a chance to read it until now.

His eyes skimmed the paper quickly, making disgusted or disgruntled noises every couple of lines. Tavros winced at each noise, feeling his self confidence sink.

"It's not utter crap." Karkat snapped eventually, throwing the paper down in disgust. Tavros perked up a bit, though, grabbing at the paper once it hit his desk.

"Really?" Tavros asked excitedly. His eyes traced over the paper again, skimming his speech. He'd started writing about flying without realizing it, and added a lot about Faeries. Once he started writing about something he liked, the speech seemed to come a lot easier than before. Karkat had 'ok'ed it when Tavros first offered the idea, though now it seemed like he had second thoughts.

"It could be better." Vantas insisted stubbornly, crossing his arms. "I fucking know it. How the hell...?" He trailed off as Gamzee leaned back and pulled Tavros's speech to his desk. Tavros and Karkat shared a confused look before Tavros reached forward and touched the back of Gamzee's neck.

"Um, Gamzee...?" The Makara whirled around in his desk and shot him a dopey smile.

"This is bitchtits awesome!" He declared. Ignoring Tavros's squeak of shock, Gamzee thrust the speech under his nose and waved it enticingly. "You should all up and motherfucking preach to the dark carnival of fuckers we got round here."

"Dark carnival?" Karkat echoed with furrowed brows while Tavros squeaked out a shocked "what?" Gamzee's grin widened into a friendly shark's grin, reminding Tavros of Bruce in Finding Nemo.

"Yea, c'mon, brother." Gamzee shook the paper again. Tavros shook his head negatively, shooting a pleading look at Karkat for his help.

"That's...not a total fucking disaster of an idea." Karkat sounded stunned as he said so; Tavros felt his eyes widen when Karkat turned to look at him again. He shrank down, but it didn't prevent Vantas from latching onto his arm and hauling him up to the front of the class.

Almost immediately, all movement halted. Confusion varied on everyone's face as Karkat absconded, leaving Tavros alone in the front of the classroom. Tavros shook lightly, staring back at his teammates with wide, terrified eyes.

"We're fucking working on speeches today." Karkat stated loudly. "Nitram volunteered to be first." Eridan and John clapped encouragingly, though Vriska let out a snicker of disdain that she couldn't quite cover. Gamzee glared daggers at her, but as he was still out of it, his venomous gaze didn't affect her much. Dave, Sollux, Equius and Kanaya all turned to watch, but said nothing.

"You can do it, Tavros!" Feferi called. Tavros took a deep breath.

"Um," he started haltingly, trembling when Karkat shot him a dirty look. It sapped at his confidence, and he immediately glued his eyes to his speech. His eyes flew over the words, getting ahead of what he was saying and making him twist everything around. "Uh, th-there can be an, um, in-interesting fact about, um, about flying that I-I bet you wouldn't, uh, know." Tavros shifted nervously, clearing his throat and chewed on his lip. "F-Flying is no-not limited to- - -oh, no, um, flying ca-can, um, can be achieved by, uh, by plane, and also by, uh- - -"

"Oh, Jesus fuck, I can't stand this anymore!" Karkat howled, slamming his hands on the desk. Tavros jumped and hit the white board behind him. Vantas strode quickly around the desk that he was sitting in, a snarl twisting his face.

"Whoa, Karbro!" Gamzee struggled to follow him when Karkat grabbed Tavros's arm hard enough to make Tavros squeak out. Makara seemed trapped by the workings of his desk, unable to get out despite his best efforts. Vriska howled with laughter, though the rest of the team seemed a bit used to Gamzee's antics; nobody moved to help him, though, and so Karkat was free to tug Tavros to his heart's content. He ignored Gamzee's call, dragging Tavros to the door. Tavros shot the class a helpless look, pleading for help.

"You're fucking up, Ampora!" Karkat snapped over his shoulder.

"Eh..." Tavros stammered slightly, biting his lip when Eridan stood up and strode to the front of the room, pulling a paper from his pocket. Tavros gulped and tugged a bit on his arm. Karkat didn't relinquish it, and Tavros gave up just in case Karkat decided to hold on tighter. "Where, um, where are we going?"

Karkat turned suddenly, forcing Tavros to crash into him. Tavros flinched back, Karkat's scowl twitching slightly.

"You," he drawled loudly, "need to fucking learn how to talk." Tavros whined a bit when Karkat whirled around and started dragging him again, holding tightly to his speech with one hand. He could hear Karkat muttering about how useless he was, unable to say one stupid speech in front of his teammates.

He wondered briefly if he was going to get out of this alive.


	4. Chapter 4

chapter update! XD slightly harder for me because of laziness. XD haha I'm a horrible author. XD

enjoy! XD

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Saturday came surprisingly quickly.

Tavros stood in the shadow of Gamzee's house, staring up at the building in slight awe. It was much bigger than he anticipated it being, despite seeing the address and knowing it was in the richer area of town. It was at least three stories high, though Tavros wasn't sure if there was an attic or the third story was just another floor of rooms. And there was most likely a basement as well, which meant Tavros was going to keep his phone on him lest he accidentally get lost.

"Tavbro!" Gamzee's voice came from the doorway. Tavros checked in again and smiled shyly, clutching at the strap on his messenger bag.

"Hey, Gamzee." He called back, forcing himself to take a few steps forward. Makara loped forward easily, wrapping his arms tightly around Tavros and lifting him up off the ground like he always did. Tavros felt a genuine smile break on his face and he patted Gamzee's back; before he'd even managed to step into the house, his friend had already calmed his fears with his familiar gestures.

"What's up, best motherfucker?" Gamzee asked as he put Tavros down. Tavros opened his mouth to answer, but Gamzee's gaze slid from him to a spot just behind him. Makara waved enthusiastically, while Tavros turned to see who'd arrived behind him.

"Oh, hey, um, Nepeta!" Tavros waved and smiled warmly at the Leijon he was familiar with; in response, Nepeta bound up to him and rubbed her face against his, greeting him as warmly as she could with her arms full.

"Mama, this is Tavrrrrows!" Nepeta pulled away long enough to turn and yell at her mother. She had several paper bags in her arms, and she didn't seem to notice when a box of pasta almost fell out of the bag; Gamzee reached out easily and caught it, placing it back in the bag without Nepeta realizing it. Tavros looked around his friend sheepishly to wave at the other woman with only one of her arms full.

"Uh, hello." He murmured.

Meulin looked like Nepeta, almost exactly. Tavros instantly picked out all the similarities between his friend and her mother, though she looked young enough to be an older sister rather than a mother. Where Nepeta's dark hair was cropped around her face, Meulin's was long and wavy, falling down her back in gentle waves. She shared her daughter's bright olive eyes, though they were worn down slightly by life. Meulin Leijon was a few inches taller than Nepeta, her body a bit curvier, and her face a flurry of gentle emotions that made her entire being softer than her daughter's.

Her free hand was moving quickly as she communicated with her daughter; though Tavros knew a bit of sign language, he only knew the alphabet and Meulin was speaking too fast to follow.

"Mama wants to know how you know Gamzee." Nepeta translated between giggles. Tavros opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of a window opening made them all turn again and look up; Karkat was squished up against Equius, who was leaning out of the window. Zahhk was sweating profusely, a sure sign that he was nervous and slightly uncomfortable, and though Karkat had wedged himself against him, Vantas looked more pissed off than usual.

"God damn it, Gamzee, get your ass up here!" His dark eyes zeroed in on Tavros and they narrowed. Almost without thinking, Karkat's lip curled in annoyance. "You too, Nitram, we don't have all fucking day!"

"Nepeta, perhaps you should hurry up a bit?" Equius called over Karkat. He tugged at his collar nervously, managing to elbow Karkat in the eye. The already enraged Varsity student let out a loud, long string of curses, ducking out of the window. His voice was still audible outside, damning the Scholastic to hell and back; Equius's face switched from nervous to pure, unadulterated horror. He ducked out of the window, and his voice joined Karkat's as he attempted to get his apologies heard.

"I, uh, I take it everyone is already here?" Tavros asked quietly. Nepeta and Gamzee both beamed at him, Gamzee a second late, while Nepeta giggled brightly and bounded ahead of them.

"Yep!" She called back as she moved. "Eridan and Fefurri don't live too far from here, and Karkitty spent the night last night too." Nepeta shot a friendly smile to Tavros as soon as she reached the door. "Equius and Vriskers got here about twenty minutes ago, though." She seemed to realize that everyone being on the second floor meant that no one was going to answer the door for them. "Hey!" She screamed loudly, kicking the door with vigor to get someone's attention.

"Come on, my main motherfucker." Gamzee drawled lazily, wrapping a secure arm around Tavros. "We'd best be up and getting our think pans full of all sorts of miraculous thoughts." Meulin fell into step beside them as they walked up the pathway, signing at Gamzee. Makara frowned slightly for a second before grinning widely, though he made no move to translate for Tavros.

"Um, I joined the AcaDec team this year." Tavros stammered slightly, trying to answer Meulin's earlier question. He was busy staring at his feet, but he stopped when nimble fingers lifted his head slightly. Gamzee nodded over at Meulin, who hadn't even looked at Tavros.

"Bitch can't hear a motherfucking thing." Gamzee reminded Tavros. A dark flush warmed Tavros's ears, and he buried his face in his hands. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten such a crucial thing, especially since he'd just watched Meulin signing. Gamzee laughed loudly and ruffled his mohawk, coming to a stop in front of Tavros. A few steps away, Meulin turned as well, suddenly aware she was walking alone and curious for the reason behind it.

"Can, um, can she...?" Tavros swallowed heavily. "Y'know, like read lips?"

"You mean the miraculous thing where she can read what you say without motherfucking hands?" Gamzee's face lit up. "Sure, she got all kinds of miraculous motherfucking tricks up her skin hiding shit." Tavros frowned in confusion, but Karkat's voice coming from the window again had them both rushing to catch up with Nepeta's mother; he didn't have a chance to try and decipher Gamzee-speak.

The trio caught up with Nepeta, who was still abusing the door in hopes of getting it open. Tavros was about to open his mouth and ask her to maybe move aside so her mother could open the door; Meulin was already pulling her keys from her pocket with her free hand, but the door opened abruptly. Nepeta nearly lost balance, her foot still swinging. She couldn't stop in time, and her foot connected with someone moments before the rest of her body followed.

Nepeta squeaked as she fell forward, but her descent was stopped by bony hands on her shoulders. A thin male stood in the doorway, his brow arched as he steadied Nepeta. Once he was sure she wasn't going to fall, he reached down and rubbed slightly at his knee where she kicked him.

"Sorry, Papa!" She raced past him into the house, and he watched her go with an amused smile on his face before he turned again.

It was almost like looking at an older Gamzee, and the thought gave Tavros the courage to smile uncertainly at Kurloz Makara. He had the same indigo-tinted eyes as Gamzee, though his eyes were sharper and more focused, his hair just as long and wild. It was pulled away from his face in a messy low ponytail, and his face was covered in the same white face paint Gamzee always wore. The make up was skeletal around his eyes, lines drawn in black in a sloppy mimic of stitches on his mouth.

Meulin entered past him first, smiling brightly at him when he leaned forward and pressed a careful kiss against her cheek. He smiled back uncertainly at her as she skipped past him after Nepeta; the smile faded away when he turned back to Tavros and Gamzee.

"What's up, motherfucker?" Gamzee grinned back, pushing past Kurloz as well. He dragged Tavros with him, though his grip was much gentler on his arm than Karkat's had been earlier that week. Tavros didn't mind his grip on his arm, staying as close to Gamzee as he could. "This is my bro Tavros. We're all up and doing some motherfucking miraculous readings upstairs." Kurloz nodded at them, closing the door behind them as Gamzee tugged him up the stairs.

Tavros did his best to look around while he was pulled. The house was just as dauntingly refurbished on the inside as it was on the outside, with spotless walls and lots of dark doors. The stairway Gamzee dragged him up was just to the side of the front door, Meulin and Nepeta disappearing down a slightly darkened hallway to the left. The hallway the stairs opened up to was wide and bright, with dark wood floors that matched the banister on the stairs. There were six or seven rooms on the second floor, with one door leading to what must have been a closet and another a bathroom. A table and chair lined the hallway between each door, small and circular. Some held a case with flowers; others were bare, under elegant paintings of Gamzee and Kurloz as kids, or under an intimidating figure that was probably their father. Gamzee didn't bother pointing out anything, other than a couple of bathrooms on the first and second floor, the room where Kurloz and Meulin were staying in until their remodeling was done, and Nepeta's room.

"Why does Nepeta, um, have her own room here?" Tavros asked. Gamzee twisted around a bit, showing off a blinding grin. Tavros felt his heart stutter a bit at the sight, but he pushed it away.

"My miraculous little kittysis is over so motherfucking much, the room's all up and made for her and her only." He explained. "Karbro's always fucking over too, but he just all up and gets his snooze on in my room."

"Where, uh, where is your room?" Tavros asked, peering around the second floor. It looked like it had several guest rooms, but all the doors were painted the same shade of indigo; he couldn't even remember where the bathroom was.

"Right up there, motherfucker!" Gamzee pointed cheerfully at the stairs at the other end of the hallway. They were surprisingly less refurbished, the wood appearing a bit more worn and a shade or two lighter from the rest of the house. "Motherfucking attic is my motherfucking private space." The taller boy loped back a bit and wrapped his arm around Tavros's shoulder, grinning down at him. "Maybe I'll all up and show you later, once we've all gotten done with this miraculous reading shit Karbro wants done." He said it enticingly, and Tavros felt his smile waver just a bit.

"S-sure." He agreed softly, feeling as though he was agreeing to something much more than just seeing the Makara's room. Gamzee beamed at him, looking much happier than Tavros thought he should be; before he could question it, Gamzee strode over to the door, taking Tavros with him, and threw it open.

"Let's get it all up and started, motherfuckers!" Gamzee burst out, pulling Tavros behind him. The smaller Varsity student waved at everyone, noting that besides him, there were only eight other people in the room.

"Where's, uh, Feferi?" He asked Eridan as he was pulled past the Honors student and Sollux, their usual third musketeer missing.

"Ask Kar." He muttered sullenly, not looking up. Sollux rolled his eyes, shoving his shoulder into Eridan hard enough to knock the Honors student off to the side. Eridan slammed on the floor, his arm shooting out at the last minute, causing papers to fly around him. The group snickered, and even Tavros worked hard to suppress a small smile, but Eridan glowered darkly at Sollux. "The fuck, Captor?" He snapped.

"Stop moping and just fucking study." Sollux shot back. "The sooner you finish, the sooner KK will let you go home to your beloved girlfriend. "

"That's just disgustin', Sol, the hell's a matter with ya?" Eridan bit out at the same time Vriska made an over exaggerated gagging noise. Eridan sneered at her, a dark flush crossing his face. "An not one w-word outta you, V-Vris, cause you know-w I'll play just as dirty as you."

"Oh, please, Ampora." Vriska bit back sharply, tossing her braided hair over her shoulder with a simple flick of her hand. She was balanced on a taped box across from Eridan and Sollux, her packet in one hand while she leaned back on the other. On the other side, her fingernails made a rhythmic tapping noise. "Everyone here knows- - -ah, shit!" Her hand slipped and Vriska tumbled back, falling off the box with a loud crash.

Everyone burst out laughing, even Eridan and Gamzee, but Tavros felt his brow furrow in worry. Vriska hated being embarrassed, and when she was caught, she got violent.

Sure enough, Serket launched herself over the box, reappearing so suddenly nobody had time to move. She crash landed on Eridan, who let out all his breath in a sharp _whoosh _at the sudden weight, and socked him across the face. He let out a yelp and fell to the side, away from Sollux, with Vriska still on top of him. Though he struggled to get away, Eridan didn't punch her back; most likely because, even fighting, he was mindful of the damage he could cause with the many rings that always littered his fingers.

"Whoa!" Sollux yelled, throwing himself on top of Vriska to grab her arms when it became obvious Eridan wasn't going to do too much in terms of fighting back. He tried valiantly to hold her back, but after the third time he got elbowed in the eye, Sollux resorted to calling for help.

"What the fuck?" Karkat roared at the same time, snagging on the collar of Eridan's jacket and trying to pull him away. Serket followed Ampora as he was pulled, the two thrashing around as they fought. Eridan let out a yelp when Vriska punched him again, followed by a shriek from Serket when Ampora managed to get her wrist in his mouth and bite down.

Karkat and Sollux both quickly realized they couldn't control the fighting, and looked around for help until Equius appeared out of nowhere. He picked up Eridan in one hand and grabbed Vriska by her waist with the other, pulling them apart easily. He passed Eridan to Sollux, who dragged him back to where they were sitting with a dark glare at Vriska. Serket tried to lunge at Eridan again, but Equius kept a firm hold on her waist as he marched over to where he had been sitting alone. Retaking his seat, Equius sat Vriska down in his lap. She twisted around, scratching and biting, trying to force him to free her, but Zahhk wouldn't budge. He ignored her movements, though he was sweating profusely once again.

"Whoa." Gamzee said, breaking the tenseness that had fallen around the group. He hadn't moved from his spot by the window, holding onto Tavros from behind as if the shorter Varsity had been a lifeline. Tavros felt Gamzee's breath in his hair, and hoped that the Honors student wasn't getting any face paint in the mohawk even as he wondered when Gamzee began holding him the way he was.

"Um, that was, dramatic." He sniffed, trying subtly to work his way out from Gamzee. The Makara's arms tightened around his waist only briefly before allowing Tavros to abscond away. The Nitram smiled reassuringly before sitting right next to Gamzee's legs.

"Seriously, what the fuck guys?" Karkat snapped loudly as Makara plopped to the floor. "We're supposed to be fucking studying."

"Next time you won't be so lucky, Ampora!" Vriska snarled, moving to go after Eridan again. Eridan bared his teeth at her in response, but stayed huddled by Sollux when Captor wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him warningly. Blood was already gathering from his nose, as well as dripping down Vriska's arm where he bit her.

"Enough, Serket." Equius responded as well, tightening his grip on her. Vriska settled with a dark glower, daring any of them to say anything.

"So." Dave coughed mockingly, drawing attention to him as he waved a packet in the air. "We gonna get any studying done, or can John and I just take off like the awesome dorkiness that we are together?"

"We're gonna fucking study!" Karkat howled furiously. Dave snorted and John rolled his eyes, but their usual responses to Vantas's anger only made him more furious. "Don't you fucking move, Strider. Don't you dare!"

"We've got snacks!" Nepeta crowed, appearing out of nowhere with a plate of steaming cookies and a bowl of chips. She had kicked in the door, a bag swinging and clinking ominously on her arm. Meulin entered the room much slower than her daughter, smiling and holding another bowl of chips. The younger Leijon stopped short, looking around in confusion at the situational positioning in the room.

"Fucking finally!" Sollux breathed, reaching toward the cookies until Eridan poked his side harshly. He recoiled with a wince.

"What the?" Nepeta frowned in disappointment. "Where's Fefurri?" The whole group groaned again, Eridan's head falling on top of Sollux's shoulders.

"She's not fucking here!" Karkat growled, his hands clenching on the paper and crinkling it up. Nepeta made a playful face at him, sticking out her tongue.

"I see that Karkitty." She shot back. "I mew she said she was coming. Why didn't she stay ofur?"

"Kar wouldn't let her." Eridan grumbled sulkily. Sollux rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulder, making Ampora's head bounce.

"And the sooner we study, the sooner you can have her pick you up." He sighed, as if he'd said it far too many times already. "So let's get this over with."

"Can I help?" Nepeta bounced around, dropping chips from the bowl as she plopped it down and grabbed the other one from her mother. As she settled the snacks and what turned out to be an assortment of drinks on the floor, Sollux and Dave dove for the food; everyone followed soon after, save Tavros, Vriska, and Karkat.

"No!" Karkat yelled, being too busy fighting with Nepeta to focus on the snacks. "If I didn't let fucking Feferi stay, there's no way in hell you're staying either!"

"I am staying!" Nepeta stomped her foot.

"Only because you're Gamzee's fucking niece and you're living here right now anyway!" Karkat stomped up to her and picked her up easily; Nepeta mewled and struggled, her mother snickering silently in the doorway. "If not, you wouldn't fucking be here! Now fuck off, dammit!" He dropped her by Meulin, who bent down and picked her up by her arm. With a wave, Meulin dragged Nepeta out while signing quickly. Nepeta turned and stuck her tongue out at Karkat, who responded by slamming the door shut.

"You sure you don't wanna just ditch studying and go have a hate date with your pitch crush?" Vriska taunted Vantas as he stomped back. Karkat flipped his middle finger at her, ignoring her as he plopped on the other side of Gamzee. Makara responded by wrapping an arm around Tavros and Karkat, smiling blankly at the ceiling as he chewed on several cookies.

"Now." Karkat shuffled a couple of papers around and picked up one of the packets. "We'll start with fucking science."

"Fucking science is right." Sollux groaned, falling back. He had chip crumbs on his mouth, though he didn't seem to notice. Eridan did, though; the Honors student reached over and gently wiped the crumbs away, making Sollux's lips quirk in a thankful smirk. Tavros watched the two boys with a slight frown but hope blooming in his chest; Eridan had confided in him about having some pretty intense feelings for Sollux, though he hadn't been sure if he really hated Captor or just liked him intensely. It seemed like he was making an effort to find out, and Sollux didn't seem to mind the advances. "Who the hell gives a fuck about geology?"

"Stop whining." John said, his voice chipper. He was already halfway through the packet, having been reading it while everything had gone on around him. A small pile of cookies was by his knee, Dave having placed them there for the trickster while obtaining his food. "Geology isn't too bad, you just need to- - -"

"John, no." Dave cut in blankly, placing a hand over his boyfriend's mouth. John gave him an affronted look as he was shut up, but the Strider shook his head. "No, John, no. Just no."

"C'mon, Dave- - -" John whined, but each move of his head brought Strider's hand with it.

"No." He repeated firmly. John gave up, staring at his boyfriend with accusing blue eyes. Dave kept his hand on John's mouth a moment more before pulling it away, certain his boyfriend would take the hint and stay quiet.

"But why?" Egbert whined almost as soon as he could. The team groaned and Dave dropped his head to rest on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"Because, Egbert," he said as patiently as he could, "geology fucking sucks. It's almost as boring as one of your goddamned rom coms, and just as bad as Con Air, all right? Like, Con Air can't even look at geology without wincing and comparing its total assfuckery to the godawful acting in that damned movie."

"Hey!" Karkat and John yelled at the same time, having both of their movie genres shot down in one sentence. Dave shrugged a shoulder, not moving.

"It's fucking boring as hell." He stated. "Just like a Nic Cage movie."

"I'll have you know- - -" John started; Karkat recognized the on coming battle and waved his hands around in an attempt to prevent it.

"Anyway!" Karkat yelled loudly, gaining everyone's attention once again. "We've gotta fucking start. Take your damn notes, assholes." He cleared his throat while the rest of the team grumbled but moved to do as he said. Once everyone was situated- - -Vriska was seated on the box again, carefully not leaning back just in case she fell again and looking absolutely disgusted at having to put up with Equius's sweating so personally, Eridan and Sollux were huddled together as far from Vriska as possible, Dave had John leaning against his chest, Equius was seated as far from the group as possible (he was still shooting ignored apologetic looks at Karkat and seemed to have self-exiled himself until he was sure he had forgiveness), Tavros was sitting next to Gamzee by the window with Makara's arm loose around his shoulder- - -Karkat sniffed once before reading the introduction to geology.

Tavros tried to pay attention, he really did; he knew how important it was to remember the stuff they were being tested on, but Sollux and Dave were right: geology was so boring! Karkat actually had a soothing reading voice, though it was loud and mixed with expletives; mixed with the content of the packet and Gamzee's body heat from his side, Tavros felt himself nodding off. His head dropped until it hit Gamzee's shoulder, making Makara freeze just slightly before shifting a bit and wrapping his arm more firmly around Tavros's shoulder. The movement engulfed Tavros in warmth; lulled by Gamzee's warmth and Karkat's soothing voice, the Varsity fell asleep.

A click brought Tavros out of his sleep, and he tried to use his hand to push himself up; it had fallen asleep at some point, though, and Tavros's helping hand instead plunged the boy face first to the ground. His resulting yelp made Gamzee jump next to him, and the Makara was instantly hovering over him.

"You all right, Tavbro?" He asked, his voice heavy and thick from sleep. Clearing his throat, Gamzee tried again. His voice came out more natural sounding, though the thickness didn't go away. "You ok motherfucker?"

"Fine." Tavros sighed, managing to get his other arm around and pick himself off of the ground. Rubbing his eye with his slowly-waking appendage, Tavros glanced at the window and nearly jumped out of his skin. "O-Oh, god, is it that, um, late already?" Gamzee looked confused for a moment before turning and looking out of the same window.

Stars twinkled down at them, the moon half full and rising in the sky. The room was dark, only a light in the corner lighting up the room with ambient lighting. It was also strangely silent, soda cans still littering the floor where people had been sitting. The plate and bowls were gone, though, and Tavros wondered what time it was to have gotten so dark.

"It's only fucking seven." Karkat snapped, causing both boys to whip their heads around guiltily. Karkat was standing by the door and Nepeta stood in the middle of the room; Vantas's arms were crossed and he was glowering darkly at the two, showing how pissed off he really was as he leaned against the doorframe. Tavros cowered slightly, afraid of Karkar's anger and what he would do to them.

"Efurrybody has already gone home." Nepeta added when it became clear Karkat wasn't going to be saying anything more. There was a camera in her hand, and she looked slightly disappointed behind her smile. "Though Equius's dad just picked him up."

"Wow." Tavros winced as he stood up, patting his pockets in search of his phone. "I, uh, I didn't realize it was so late. Should I, um- - -"

"Stay fur dinner!" Nepeta beamed widely, pocketing the camera and grabbing Tavros's hands to stop him. He stared at her with wide eyes, and Nepeta shook his hands with excitement. "It'll be fun! Gamzee doesn't mind, right?"

"Nah, bro, shit's cool." Gamzee sounded as bewildered as Tavros felt, though there was an undercurrent of something rough still in his voice. Nepeta's excitement waned a bit and she looked over at Gamzee curiously, Karkat snorting and disappearing from the doorway.

"Gam?" Nepeta purred, concern in her voice. Her eyes widened and she darted away from Tavros, getting only as far as the door when Karkat appeared again.

"Here, idiot." Karkat tossed a white pill bottle, and Tavros watched as it sailed into the room and right into Gamzee's outstretched hand. Frowning just a bit, Tavros watched as he opened the bottle neatly and poured out a couple of pills, downing them dry.

"Now." Gamzee grinned at them blearily after a tense moment of silence. "You were up and saying something about food, kittysis?"

Nepeta beamed.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey! Thought I'd forgotten about all of you, didn't you? Well, here's another update, hot off the presses of my brand-new tablet! Sorry that it's so short though. XD and crap ending is crap, sorry. It was supposed to be a part of last chapter, but the last one was getting far too long. XD hope you're all having a good break/Christmas/holiday season. Happy New Years, everyone!

Read enjoy, and drop off a review for me, ok? XD

XXXX

Dinner was an awkward affair.

It started with a phone call, something that should have been quick and simple. It hadn't been for one single purpose: Rufio Nitram. Rufio had been in a panicked state when Tavros finally remembered to call. He was ready to drive over and demand the return of his little brother as if Tavros had been kidnapped instead of just hanging out at a friend's house. He felt guilty for making Rufio worry, almost enough to agree with his brother and go home, but a quick glance at Gamzee'd hopeful face gave Tavros courage to fight to stay a little longer. It took the younger Nitram almost ten minutes to convince his brother that it wasn't a good idea to do such a thing, but it wasn't until Nepeta stole the phone away that he managed to get anywhere. She'd even convinced Rufio to let Tavros stay for dinner, though how, the Varsity student wasn't exactly sure.

The four of them rushed down to the dining hall after that, Gamzee's hand leading Tavros once again down the long hallway and the stairs. Nepeta tagged Karkat and declared him 'it', prompting Vantas to chase after her recklessly. She slid down the banister of the stairs easily in quick, practiced movements; Karkat tried to imitate her, but slipped off the rail and nearly face planted on the steps. Gamzee pulled to a stop by the fallen boy, Tavros with him, but Karkat leapt to his feet with an enraged howl. He pounded down the stairs after Nepeta's giggling, Gamzee tugging Tavros with him again.

They slowed to a walk once they hit the bottom of the stairs. It had less to do with Tavros's very present concern of bodily injury and physical harm to the objects in the house, and more to do with the loud crashing and Karkat's furious voice from what Tavros assumed was the dining room.

Tavros and Gamzee sauntered in, hiding snickers when Karkat was found glaring at Nepeta, the Leijon beaming back, as Vantas was pushed into a seat by Meulin. Nepeta encouraged them to sit down as well, though Tavros wasn't sure where he was allowed to sit. He opted to stand by the table and watch as everyone else took their seats first.

Meulin and Kurloz sat across from each other, the head of the long table left empty for the owner of the house. Nepeta sat by her mother, Karkat on her left side scowling darkly. Uncertainly, Tavros allowed himself to be lead to his seat, which was one space away from Kurloz and to the left of Gamzee; it put him directly across from Karkat and his fierce scowl. The table wasn't too long, having room for maybe two more people to sit on Tavros's free side. It was made from presumably the same dark wood as the floor and the banister, with six placemats and plates. Food was placed in front of them by Meulin, serving utensils on the sides and steam rising from the food. Tavros closed his eyes and inhale deeply, taking in the smell of a home cooked meal as Nepeta grabbed hold of the silver cart by her mother's chair and pushed it against the wall.

Meulin reached out once everyone was seated once again, taking Nepeta's hand in her left and Kurloz's hand from across the table. Nepeta took Karkat's slyly, intertwining their fingers against Vantas's will; Karkat grumbled but allowed it, reaching over and grabbing Tavros's hand in a bruising grip. He winced at the treatment, though Tavros gave a shy smile to Gamzee when the youngest Makara took his hand gently.

What followed was the quietest prayer Tavros had ever been a part of. He'd glanced up a couple of times to see Meulin mouthing words, probably following along with whatever Kurloz was saying, but nobody offered any actual words to tell him what they were saying. Nepeta looked solemn and serious for once, her eyes closed. Even Karkat looked peaceful, though a hint of a frown still decorated his features; his grip on Tavros's hand loosened significantly, though the Nitram could see how it tightened on Nepeta's.

"And also," Gamzee's voice broke through the quiet, and Tavros jumped a bit in his seat. The younger Makara squeezed his hand comfortingly, and continued his sudden interruption. "Thank the messiahs for my two favoritest motherfuckers all up and joining in on our most miraculous meals."

Meulin pulled both Nepeta and Kurloz's hands to her mouth, pressing kisses to them both before releasing them with a clap. Smiling as widely as her daughter, the older Leijon stood and began piling food on Kurloz's plate. Nepeta did the same, fighting playfully with Gamzee over the mashed potatoes in front of them. Tavros reached for the green beans in front of him, wincing back when Karkat beat him to the serving utensil. Smirking victoriously at his team mate, Karkat began serving himself.

"Here, motherfucker." Gamzee's voice breathed in his ear, and Tavros jumped back. The chair squealed against the floor in protest, making everyone turn to watch Gamzee begin piling mashed potatoes on his plate. Gamzee didn't seem to notice, telling Tavros to let him know when to stop; Tavros saw a calculating look come from Kurloz, though, and it brought a dark flush to his cheeks that he couldn't get rid of.

Once everyone had been served to their satisfaction- - -and Tavros convinced Gamzee not to pile the equivalent of a small mountain on his plate- - -the table went quiet again. Tavros was surprised at how good everything tasted, and couldn't help wishing that he'd allowed Gamzee to serve him a little more. He hadn't had a home cooked meal like this in ages; his father worked hard to make sure they had a roof over their heads and Rufio, as good of a big brother as he was, a chef he was not.

He was interrupted by a foot connecting with his leg, and Tavros bit back a yelp by stuffing a mix of green beans and mashed potatoes in his mouth. Nepeta looked over curiously, her right hand poised in midair mid-sign. Meulin leaned down to peer from under Nepeta's hand.

"This is delicious." Tavros smiled widely, ignoring Karkat's snickers. He shot Vantas a weak glare, to which Karkat shrugged in a mocking apology. Licking his lips, the Nitram focused on enunciating his words so that Nepeta's mother could understand him even from across the table. As if to be safe, he noticed Nepeta's hand translating for him. He batted Gamzee's insistent hand away from his side. "Did you make the meal, Miss Meulin?"

The woman laughed, breathy sounds falling from her mouth. The only way Tavros knew she was laughing was the smile on her face. Despite her laughter, Meulin gathered herself and made a motion that included Nepeta and Kurloz.

"O-oh." Tavros gulped lightly. Even without Nepeta translating, he understood; the food was the combined efforts of both Leijon women and Kurloz Makara. It made him nervous in reasons he couldn't explain, though it was most likely the unnerving way Kurloz stared at him with the same indigo eyes as Gamzee; his gaze was clear and calculating in ways that Gamzee's wasn't, and Tavros couldn't help but be on his guard around the older Makara. "It is very good. I wasn't aware you all, um, cooked."

"It's a family thing." Nepeta said before her mother could move. "It purrings us closer togefurr and we make a good meal. Mama even made the potatoes from kitty-scratch!"

"Motherfucking miracles, ain't it?" Gamzee laughed at Tavros's astonished face. Kurloz rolled his eyes and put his hand up; what he signed seemed to be for Gamzee's eyes alone, as he was blocking his hand from Nepeta and Meulin's view. Gamzee honked with laughter, prompting questions from the rest of the table that went unanswered. Kurloz pursed his lips, a proud smirk breaking through the white face paint.

"Wow!" He exclaimed, digging in with just a bit more vigor. It brought Gamzee's attention back to Tavros, though the Nitram was still talking to Meulin. The Leijon woman beamed with pride as well, her features lighting up at the read compliment. "That's amazing!"

"That's my mama!" Nepeta beamed proudly as well. She reached over and tugged on a lock of her mother's long hair, shooting a wide smile at her father. "If it was still acceptable, my mama would be the one to hunt and kill the meat, and my papa would be the one to help prepurr it to eat!"

"That's, uh, so cool!" Tavros let out a slight laugh. And then, without even taking a second to pause or think, he said "it's amazing that, um, even though you all communicate, differently, uh, which could cause, so many issues, um, while you're all working, but you can still cook so well!" There was a brief moment of silence as what he said sank in.

Then Tavros froze, flushing crimson from his neck up to his forehead. Since he had been looking down, Meulin hadn't caught what he'd said; the older Leijon was staring quizzically around the table, silently asking someone to translate for her. Nepeta frowned, ignoring the tugging on her sleeve as she tried to figure out how to tell her mother.

Karkat's foot swung out again and kicked his shin, less accidentally and more on purpose this time. Gamzee didn't seem to understand what he said, because he ruffled Tavros's hair fondly with his hand and smiled brightly at him. Nepeta laughed, though, easily translating to her mother against her father's wishes; Kurloz gave Tavros a venomous look, though, trying futilely to grab at Nepeta's hands fro, across the table before she finished.

Meulin brushed off his comment with another breathy laugh and fluid motions.

"My mama says," Nepeta translated importantly, "that she is deaf and not blind. Cooking is absolutely no purrblem for her." She batted away Kurloz's hands, still laughing. "She's not offended, Tavrrrrows."

Despite her reassurances, Tavros still felt uneasy. There was a feeling of shame welling up in his gut. His father and brother surely taught him to think before he spoke; he was never so rude, not like that! How could he blatantly point out something like that so carelessly? It wasn't like him, not at all.

Kurloz stood and moved around the table, placing his hand heavily on Tavros's shoulder. Gamzee looked curiously at his older brother, whose grip tightened on Tavros's shoulder. The Nitram winced as he felt bruises begin forming underneath the older Makara's harsh grip.

"What's up, motherfucker?" Gamzee asked; the whole table was watching them, curious as to what Kurloz was doing. Tavros smiled shakily to reassure Nepeta and Gamzee, though he was sure that they were seeing the discomfort on his face.

"Oi, Kurloz." Karkat was the one to pipe up, his brows furrowed. He was watching carefully, eyes twitching between the two as he watched discomfort play out over Tavros's face and quiet rage cover Kurloz's body. "It was just a stupid comment. Lay off him, all right?" Tavros winced again as Kurloz's fingers tightened impossibly before releasing suddenly. Blood rushed to his shoulder, and Tavros felt tears spring to his eyes. Karkat was staring at him, something looking similar to concern etching his features, but it was pushed out of Tavros's mind when Gamzee took his face in his hands.

"Whatsa matter, Tavbro?" He questioned worriedly. "You've all up and got salty shit in your seeing globes. Everything motherfucking miracles?" His fingers brushed continually under Tavros's eyes, which made some of the tears leak out and fall down his cheek. He barely registered Kurloz leaving and retaking his seat on the other side of Gamzee, or Meulin and Nepeta telling the older Makara off in sign. All Tavros could see was Gamzee's dazed, worried face; all he could hear was the younger Makara's voice, reassuring him and questioning him in the same breath. Gamzee's warm hands on his face was all that he could feel, and Tavros felt his heart catch in his throat at the gentleness that Gamzee provided him.

"I'm fine." He whispered shakily. Gamzee didn't look convinced, but he released Tavros's face with a thoughtful honk. Tavros waited until all the attention was off of him before letting his shoulders fall from their tense position. Letting out a quiet sigh, Tavros pulled out his phone, careful to keep it under the table, and sent his brother a quick text. Replacing his phone, Tavros resumed eating his meal. It was quiet around the table again, for a different reason: Karkat was studying Tavros curiously, Gamzee was shooting him hazy concerned glances, and Nepeta and Meulin were berating Kurloz. It was awkward and Tavros wanted nothing more than to get away.

After a tense ten minutes during which all the food was eaten, a loud knock resounded from the hall. It brought a sigh of relief from Tavros, even as Meulin started. She rose gracefully, shooting a sharp glare at Kruloz, her hand making quick and tense movements as she instructed him to stay seated. Smiling confusedly at Nepeta and asking quickly if she was expecting someone, Meulin went down the hall to open the door.

"Hello, my name is Rufio." Rufio's voice came from the hallway, sounding just a bit uncertain. Tavros felt a smile cross his face at the familiar voice. "I'm here to pick up my brother. Is…is this the right house?"

Meulin reappeared, pushing a slightly confused Rufio into the dining hall.

"This is Tavrrrrows's older brother Rufio!" Nepeta translated for her mother. Meulinnkept sending worried looks at Taveos as she spoke, unbeknownst to her daughter. "Here to pick up…oh, no!" She turned around and shot a pouty look at Tavros, looking utterly concerned and completely baffled. Not caring much about decorum, Nepeta leaped over her plate of food and landed on the table in front of Tavros. Kurloz signed angrily at her, slamming his hands down on the table every now and then, but Nepeta ignored him in favor of gazing pleadingly at Tavros. "Don't leave, please! Is it beclaws of what Papa did? Mama won't let him anymore, so you can stay, Tavrrrrows!"

"What happened to Tavros?" Rufio demanded, glowering at Kurloz distrustfully. The elder Makara waved the older Nitram off, still focused on his daughter. Annoyed with the lack of answer, Rufio turned to his younger brother, who was cowering away from Nepeta's pleading onslaught. "What did they do to you, Tavros?"

"N-Nothing!" Tavros squeaked in response. Karkat snorted loudly and disbelievingly in response, which made Rufio's eyes narrow and Tavros backtrack. Shooting a weak glare around Nepeta at his team leader, Tavros amended "I mean, uh, I might have, maybe, just kind of deserved it, um, maybe a little, but- - -"

"WHAT?" Rufio's voice echoed in the dining hall, making Nepeta scramble off the table and Karkat wince. Tavros stood, making a face when the wooden legs of his chair screeched against the tile on the floor. Ignoring Gamzee's half-hearted confused attempt to keep him seated, Tavros all but ran around the table to stand by his brother.

"It was, uh, nice meeting everybody!" He called over his shoulder, waving at the table as a whole. "Uh, hopefully I can, maybe, come again soon!"

"Tavros- - -" Karkat started, only to be interrupted when Tavros cut him off with a shrill "See you at school, Karkat, Nepeta, um, G-Gamzee!"

"Whoa, Tavbro- - -" Grabbing his brother's arm and waving at everyone wildly, Tavros absconded to Rufio's car before anything else could happen.

They sat in silence outside of the house for a long moment. Rufio kept trying to ask what happened, but Tavros waved it off when he persisted, the younger Nitram finally pretended to be tired and want to sleep. Finally, finally, Rufio let it go. Tavros listened as Rufio's old car came to life, watching as a light turned on in the attic of Gamzee's house. It wasn't until they were halfway home that Tavros remembered what Gamzee had said about the room placement. Gamzee had been in the window, watching as his best bro drove home and waving from his room. It wasn't until Tavros was in his own room did he realize something else:

He never did get to see Gamzee's room.


	6. Chapter 6

Another chapter so soon! The shock! The amazingness! XD the stuff that comes from pre-written chapters! So here's another update for all of you. XD enjoy, even if it's not much of a chapter. XD

RenRen: Gamzee gets to be in his own world. XD haha and Kurloz was just being a bit overprotective, that's all. XD haha  
Puzzle: : *rolls around in happiness* thank you~! I'm glad you like it.  
And thank the both of you for reviewing~! xd

Everybody ready? XD Read, enjoy, and don't forget to review!

XXXX

Wednesday was a good day, Tavros felt.

He'd given his speech to Karkat and Vriska that morning, and he'd only been given about half the criticisms as usual. His shoulder had healed from the abuse Kurloz put on it, the bruises faded to nothing. And when they took their usual quiz, on Music again, he'd gotten eight out of ten right. Gamzee had beamed proudly at him, making his stomach fill with uncomfortable butterflies, but it had been forced aside when a Nepeta had pounced on him and congratulated him. It lifted his spirits, and Tavros felt like he was having a spectacularly good day.

He was walking towards the classroom at the beginning of lunch; despite having just been sitting down for an hour and a half for math, Tavros knew the importance of the upcoming scrimmage, and he was determined to study as much as he could. The better his scores for it, the happier Karkat would be, hopefully, and then maybe he wouldn't push the rest of them so much.

And that was about when the day took a nose dive.

Math was the one class he didn't share with anyone from the team or even in the class. It was in a building on the opposite side of campus, which meant that Tavros was usually running to get to the classroom on time.

Today was such a nice day that Tavros decided to slow down; he walked casually from class towards the AcaDec classroom, his backpack wrapped firmly around his hand as he soaked in the sun. As he walked, he watched as friends greeted each other, getting food and telling stories about classes. It was such a calm environment compared to the room he was headed towards, Tavros couldn't help but smile as he took it all in.

He picked up followers as he walked, though he didn't realize that he was being followed.

"Hey, guess who it is?" A voice near Tavros's ear brought him to a stop just down the hall from the AcaDec classroom due to proximity and familiarity. He couldn't see who it was, though, because hands were shoving him in all directions.

"It's Tavros Nitram!" An arm wrapped around his neck, forcing Tavros's face to smoosh up against the rough fabric of someone else's backpack. A hand followed the arm, ruffling his mohawk roughly. Tavros winced at the treatment, struggling to get out; the more he struggled, the tighter the arm went and the more the oxygen was cut off from his throat. Tears welled up in Tavros's eyes, and he willed the treatment to stop.

"What's going on, guys?" Tavros was released, and he scrambled back several steps, panting heavily.

It was sad, but it appeared he'd forgotten what it was like to be bullied. He was usually stuck in the classroom for studying, and outside of it he was with someone from the class as if they were a sort of protective bodyguard. Nobody had been able to bully him since the school year began, and Tavros had gotten used to it. Even Vriska had been toning down her insults, though Tavros wasn't entirely sure if it was because she couldn't get away with doing much other than study due to Karkat's ever present vigilance or because Gamzee had taken him under his protection whenever he could.

And though he forgot about his previous bullies, it was clear that they'd not forgotten about him. It took him a while, but after a few moments Tavros was able to place two of the boys that had stopped him.

Jason was the leader, the head guy; he was almost a foot taller than Tavros, a senior now. He'd blindly followed Vriska when she teased him, taking her torments into the physical world while Serket would taunt Tavros with her words. Jason had floppy brown hair, sharp hazel eyes, and a wide grin. He was handsome in many girls' eyes, a real heartthrob, though he was an athlete and had a mean streak nearly a mile wide. His right hand man was Adam, a fellow football player, who'd been suspended for school related violence more times than Tavros could count. He was a giant, almost as wide as he was tall, with a crooked nose and a scar that covered his left cheek.

The other two were just more lackeys, Tavros was sure. He'd never seen them before; they looked like junior varsity football players, freshmen trying to play with the big boys.

Tavros felt himself shrink in the sight of the four boys, his hand tightening on his backpack strap. He really thought that they'd be done bullying him, seeing as he'd all but vanished in the weeks since he'd joined AcaDec, but clearly such a thing was not the case. Tavros glanced a bit behind him again, where the door to the classroom was, and prayed to every god he could think of that he would be saved.

Nothing happened.

"Well?" Jason shoved Tavros's shoulder, forcing the smaller boy back a few steps. They all advanced, though, and Tavros felt cornered though he knew he could get away if he tried to run or scream for help. "Aren't you gonna at least say hi, Tavbore?" He grinned with too many teeth, but Tavros was frozen in place. He couldn't make a sound, let alone call for help. "We haven't seen you 'round. Maybe you should apologize for that, Tavros." Jason drew out the 'a' the same way that Vriska did.

"Tav?" Eridan's voice came from behind him, and Tavros turned slightly to see the Ampora leaning out of the classroom, his hand on the door. Eridan looked confused, his violet eyes moving from the Varsity student to the other boys around him and back. When he spoke again, his stutter came out. "W-we're all w-waitin', Tav-v. Ya comin' or w-what?"

"I'll be right there." Tavros responded automatically. Eridan looked at the situation suspiciously but nodded and closed the door again. Tavros stared for a moment longer at the door, not a single thing going through his mind.

And then he cursed himself into a storm in his mind; god damn it, how stupid was he? That had been his chance! He wanted help, and the only person who came for him he'd turned away carelessly. A menacing chuckle brought Tavros's attention to Jason, who was cracking his knuckles in seeming anticipation. Tavros felt himself pale considerably, his chocolate eyes going wide with fear. Shit, what was he supposed to- - -

His first swing caught Tavros off guard despite the small boy watching it coming, and he spun with the force of Jason's fist meeting his cheek right by his eye. A yelp escaped Tavros without him realizing it, his hand going up to cup the injured area instantly as he swung around to face Jason again. At the same time, a loud bang came from behind Tavros.

Before he could turn around again, long lanky arms wrapped around him and pulled him tightly against a tall, thin form. It felt familiar, but Tavros couldn't find it in him to place it right away. The arms around him held him tightly, but it was comforting and Tavros felt himself relax into the body behind him. In front of him, Jason and his cronies all turned white.

"Is there a _motherfucking problem_ with my _little motherfucker _here?" A dark voice rumbled from above his mohawk. Tavros felt his eyes widen as well, shock coursing through his body; it was Gamzee behind him, Gamzee in physical form and spoken language, but not Gamzee in tone. There was nothing of the Makara's easy going personality or lazy tone, or his friends-with-all-isn't-everything-fucking-miraculous attitude. Gamzee sounded dark and dangerous, his body tensed in ways it shouldn't have been. Tavros was immediately on edge, uncertain of where he stood with this new Gamzee Makara.

"O-o-of c-c-c-course not-t-t." One of Jason's cronies stammered, one of the younger ones who hadn't looked familiar; Jason himself was silent, and Tavros felt more terror course through him. If his tormentor, his fearless bully, was terrified into silence, what did that say about his fate?

"Then _perhaps_ a bunch of _unmiraculous motherfuckers _like you should all up and _abscond_." It didn't sound like the suggestion it was worded as, what with the way Gamzee's voice was grating and violent-sounding, and they didn't waste a moment. Before Gamzee was even finished speaking, they were running away. Tavros watched them leave with a sense of hopelessness. What good was being saved if he was going to be terrorized?

He went to move away, but Gamzee wouldn't let him go. Tavros felt himself panic, and his eyes darted around to find help. He kept struggling, and the more he struggled the tighter Gamzee held. A growl started in Makara's throat, spurring more struggles from Taros that got him nowhere. It wasn't until Karkat appeared out of nowhere with Nepeta, the cat-loving girl wrapping her arms around Gamzee's neck with the help of the shorter Vantas, that the Makara even stopped growling. She whispered something to Gamzee's ear, something that sounded soothing even to Tavros, and the Varsity student felt Gamzee's arms relax slowly.

It felt like an eternity before Gamzee released him fully, and Tavros put almost five feet of space between them before he turned to face the trio. Nepeta was being lowered to the ground again, Karkat bending down slowly to put her feet gently on the floor, her smile nervous yet hopeful.

Gamzee had his fists clenched tightly, his body tensed as if he was prepared to fight. His indigo eyes were sharp and clear, narrowed at Tavros...no, narrowed just past him, where Jason and his pals had absconded. He was trembling, though for a different reason Tavros was; when he spoke, his voice was calmer but with a barely contained edge of rage.

"You all up and all _motherfucking right,_ Tavbro?" He asked; his voice was fluctuating wildly between a low grumble and a loud yell. Tavros felt his jaw work slightly, unsure of what to say. His throat was dry, his heart pounding crazily in his ribcage.

He'd never seen Gamzee like this, as dark and dangerous as he was now.

Karkat snapped his teeth and stood on his toes; he began papping Gamzee on his head. Tavros winced and opened his mouth to say something against the treatment, but it worked a lot better than Nepeta's voice did. Gamzee's body instantly relaxed, his shoulders slumping and his gaze losing the focused look. His hand came up as he groaned, rubbing at his temples.

"Motherfucking..." He mumbled under his breath. Karkat sniffed, glancing back at Tavros; the Nitram smiled shakily, but worried about how pale and shaken Karkat looked.

"Inside, dumbass." He snapped, though it was gentle and soothing, not as loud as he usually was. Gamzee looked confused, especially when Nepeta shoved his pill bottle in his hand. He stared at it uncomprehendingly before something seemed to click.

"Tavbro!" He cried loudly, looking around a bit before his eyes caught sight of the Varsity. A wide grin crossed his face, and Gamzee strode away from Nepeta and Karkat to hug Tavros.

"Gamzee, wait!" Nepeta cried at the same time Karkat lunged for his arm with a panicked "No, fuckass!"

Tavros winced, taking several panicked steps back that froze Gamzee in place. Makara stood with his arms outstretched for a long minute before another understanding dawned in his eyes; Tavros could see on his face the exact moment he pieced everything together. Slowly, his arms fell to his sides and Gamzee seemed to draw in on himself; he gave Tavros a look that was wounded yet understanding, sorrow growing on his face. Gamzee stood in between Tavros and Karkat, before turning around and uncertainly loping back to the classroom. Nepeta whined in her throat as her uncle moved past her without acknowledging her, stepping to go after him slowly before looking questioningly at Karkat.

"Look." Karkat snapped at Tavros, ignoring the Leijon for a moment. Nepeta glanced at him before seeming to understand the significance of what he was going to say; she patted his hair and turned tail, fleeing to the classroom to presumably comfort her uncle.

It was a testament to how serious Karkat was that he didn't bare his teeth at her like usual.

"Um, what's up?" Tavros responded shakily. Karkat inspected him critically and sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Gamzee has this fucked up idea that you're gonna stick around for some fucking time." He said shortly. Karkat didn't look like he agreed with Gamzee, but he didn't show an inclination to stop. "And if you are, then there's some pretty heavy shit you need to know."

"Like...like what?" Tavros whispered, shaking a bit nervously now. Karkat didn't look pissed off like usual, mostly upset and resigned.

"Gamzee's the way he fucking is for a reason." Karkat started. His voice was hesitant, but he had a look of fierce determination that showed his intent to get through whatever he wanted to say. "A damn good one, too. You know he and Nepeta were born around the same time. Same fucking year and everything, only months apart."

"Um, right." Tavros squeaked. Karkat nodded shortly.

"Right. Well, Genevieve," he frowned a bit when Tavros looked confused and elaborated just a bit. "Fuckass idiot's mother- - -she worried about Meulin a lot cause she was still a fucking kid. Like, too damn much. You watch fucking Kurloz or Meulin talk about her, she's the greatest fucking woman that ever lived; screw Mother Theresa and all that shit, Genevieve topped them all."

"Did you, uh, did you know her?" Tavros smiled shakily; Karkat glowered and he shrunk back. "Ah, Ga-Gamzee's mother?"

"Course not, stupid." Karkat scoffed. "I'm younger than Gamzee, moron, now shut up. I'm not done."

"Sorry." Tavros squeaked.

"Anyway," Karkat interjected loudly, "her worry for Meulin caused a lot of unforeseen shit for Gamzee; there were a lot of issues she didn't fucking have with Kurloz, and the stupid ass doctors couldn't catch them in time. Or they were just too damn stupid to do a fucking thing about it, either way. She died during her labor."

"Oh no." Tavros whispered quietly. "How awful."

"Not as awful as what happened next." Karkat snapped. "Shut the hell up."

"What happened?"

"Their dad fucking ran, like some damn coward. Couldn't face either of his sons. They looked too much like Genevieve or something pathetically stupid like that. He never hired any damn maid or shit like that either. Which was fucking hard on Kurloz; kid was barely sixteen and had to take care of two fucking kids. By the time Gamzee turned four his fucking father showed up and took him back. But the asshole was never there and Gamzee was too damn little to ask for help."

"Well, didn't Nepeta, uh, kind of, maybe, grow up..." Tavros started; Karkat seemed to grow in size with indignant rage.

"At least Nepeta had her fucking parents!" Karkat snapped his teeth at Tavros, making the other Varsity shrink back again and regret opening his mouth. "Gamzee was fucking alone in that damn house, getting into shit he shouldn't have and screwing himself over. One of the last incidences, when he was eight, it screwed him up permanently. Gave him a whole fucking other personality. Made him violent as shit and crazy as fuck. It took Kurloz two fucking days to find him, and when he did Gamzee had gone all Lord of the fucking Flies on him."

"B-But he doesn't..." Tavros trailed off, hoping Karkat would get what he was trying to say. Vantas squinted at him, trying to understand, before sniffing and crossing his arms.

"Yeah, well, not _now_." Karkat stressed, his voice tired and resigned. "Now he's got his fucking drugs that keep him high and that other fucking personality hidden behind a fucking cloud of fucking rainbows." Tavros winced again, Karkat watching him carefully with a scowl. It faded as Vantas sighed, the sound weary and tired. "Look, I didn't tell you this shit to scare you off or something. If I know Gamzee, the asshole feels like shit for scaring the ever-loving fuck out of you." He glanced up and met Tavros's eyes almost imploringly.

"Then...then why?" Tavros whispered.

"You'd be fucking good for him." Karkat said honestly. "We worry about him, Nep and I. No one wants to be with a fuck up. But he's taken a damn liking to you, and it's in all of our best interests that you don't breaking his fucking heart or some shit." Karkat sighed again. "Look I'm not telling you to turn on some flushed feelings his way, got it? Just..." Tavros watched as Karkat rubbed his eyes. "Just be fucking normal around him."

He turned around without waiting for Tavros to respond; gulping, the Nitram followed Vantas on shaking legs. They got to the door when Karkat stopped again.

"You tell anyone about this," he shot out suddenly, "I will fucking kill you. Got it?" Tavros nodded haltingly, instinctively knowing that anything else would be the wrong answer. Karkat studied the Nitram a bit longer before huffing out an approved hiss and throwing the door open with much more force than necessary.

He stomped in and immediately took a seat on Gamzee's right, grabbing the older boy's hand in his own and shoosh papping him less than gently with his other hand. Nepeta was curled in a chair on Makara's left, shooting apologetic looks at Equius while making quiet comforting noises at Gamzee. The boy ignored them both, staring up at the ceiling with a dazed but blank expression.

Tavros followed Karkat, but stopped completely when the whole class went quiet and turned to stare at him. His eyes strayed over Gamzee's position before acknowledging the rest of the class: John's confused blue eyes and the blank glare from Dave's sunglasses, Vriska's silent taunting and Kanaya's quiet compassion, Equius's hard stare and Sollux's biting glance...

Eridan's cautious gaze and Feferi's worried fidgeting.

Taking a slight breath, Tavros made a split decision; he left Gamzee in the hands of those closest to him and made his way towards Eridan and Feferi. Expertly avoiding Vriska's outstretched leg as he passed her, Tavros kept his eyes on the empty seat between the step siblings until the moment he was able to collapse in it. The team went back to their studies, though Vriska flipped him off and stuck her tongue out before Kanaya tugged at one of her braids. Sollux watched him wearily as Tavros say down, though a glare from Eridan had Captor shrugging and placing his headphone back in his ear.

"I'm sorry, Tav-v." Eridan whispered as soon as Nitram sat down and everyone else was suitably distracted. He was biting his lip, fingers twisting in his scarf under the table. Tavros had never seen him look so insecure. "I didn't mean to tell, honest."

"It's fine, Eridan." Tavros sighed. "It was, uh, bound to come out, um, at some point, sooner or later."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Feferi asked softly. Tavros winced; it was a sign of how upset she was that she didn't use her fish puns. The wannabe sea princess continued by placing her hand softly on Tavros's shoulder. "We could've helped you, Tavros."

"I'm sorry." He whispered. Feferi smiled at him sadly, reaching out with her other hand to mess with his mohawk.

"Ya got nothin to be sorry for, Tav." Eridan shook his head. "If anythin, we oughta be sorry for not catchin on sooner." Feferi let out a 'glub' that made Tavros giggle, even if a bit nervously.

"Yea!" She agreed. "And if they ever give you trouble again, you shell me right away!" Her fuchsia colored contacts gleamed under her tinted goggles, her smile turning sharp and dangerous like Vriska's; it set Tavros on edge after what had just happened with Gamzee, even if the two had meant well. "I'll be shore to straighten them out right away!" Her smile turned gentle as she looked eagerly at Tavros. "After all, that's what fronds are for, right?"

"Uhhh, right." Tavros glanced almost longingly over to his normal seat at the front of the classroom by Gamzee, the one that Nepeta was currently curled in. Despite the spike of terror in his stomach and the lump in his throat, Tavros wished that he could be in his normal spot. He didn't need anyone's pity, or help really. Almost five years of knowing Vriska Serket gave Tavros enough strength to deal with small bullies like that.

He spent the rest of the lunch debating on how to approach Gamzee. Tavros would look up from staring blankly at his packet, hoping that an idea would come to him, only to stop in his tracks when he saw how forlorn Gamzee looked between his closest friend and his niece. Then he would stop paying attention to anything but Gamzee, not even hearing Eridan or Sollux or even Feferi talking to him. He was coming up with and abandoning ideas so fast, Tavros couldn't even keep up with his own mind.

By the time lunch ended, Tavros still didn't have an idea.

He packed his unread packet into his bag, waving absently at Feferi when she, Sollux, and Eridan bounded out of the classroom at high speed. His mind racing, Tavros ignored everyone else until he stopped in front of Gamzee's desk. The Makara didn't seem to notice, because he was still staring at the ceiling and he hadn't acknowledged Tavros at all; Karkat threw him a heavy look full of meaning that Tavros didn't fully understand as he stood up.

"I guess I'll fucking walk you to class then, Nepeta." The Leijon looked up in confusion, her mouth automatically opened in denial, before her olive colored eyes caught sight of Tavros. Smiling ferally, Nepeta gracefully leapt out of her seat.

"Purrfect!" She shouted, grabbing her bag from the floor by her desk. "I can update you on my shipping chart, Karkitty!"

"Who says I give a bulge-munching fuck about your damn shipping chart?" Karkat snapped back, color tinting his cheeks crimson. Nepeta ignored him completely, throwing her bag around her shoulders and wrapping her arm around Karkat. Before Tavros could even blink, the couple had gone, and he realized that the quietness meant that he and Gamzee were alone.

Silence stretched on awkwardly as Tavros realized he had no idea what to say to Gamzee, and Makara made no move to talk.

"Uhhh..."

"Gonna be motherfucking late, bro." Gamzee muttered absently.

"That's, um, fine." Tavros took a calming breath, trying to steady his shaking hand. "What about, you?"

"Got my think pan all up and fucking settled." Gamzee still wasn't looking at Tavros, as if by not looking he would be able to avoid the conversation. "Fucking Parcel Mistress gets all her teach on in this motherfucking miracle language class." Tavros frowned slightly before he got it: Gamzee had English class with a Parcel Mistress?

"Who's the Parcel Mistress?" Tavros asked. The question gained Gamzee's attention, as he rolled his head around to look at Tavros out of the corner of his eye.

"The motherfucking mirthful messiah of the fucking spelling shit we all converse in." Gamzee snorted lazily. "She's our fucking special messiah, though she don't fucking show does she?" Messiah…It took Tavros a moment, but he got the message: Gamzee's English teacher was the coach for the AcaDec team. But she never really seemed to notice that she had an extracurricular class, considering it was October and she hadn't shown up once. But why was she called Parcel Mistress?

"Why Parcel Mistress?" Makara shrugged.

"Hell if I know, bro." He snorted and coughed. "Shit bro, might as well fucking preach what's on your think pan." Tavros squeaked, stammering out words that stopped when Gamzee shot him a slightly focused look. "You got some shit to say bout what fucking happened, you better just fucking up and say it bro."

"Why do you, uh," Tavros licked his lips, looking for an escape he wouldn't use. "Why do you, um, get so violent like that?" Gamzee let out a slight whine. "It's kind of, uh, scary."

"Motherfuck, bro, I never up and meant to show you that." Gamzee sighed apologetically; Tavros felt his heart clench at the sight of the normally cheerful Makara looking as down as he did, even if he was staring up at the ceiling.

"Gamzee..."

"I didn't motherfucking want to show you that at fucking all, bro." Gamzee hunched himself over his desk, his nail scraping a pattern in the wood beneath it. His voice was filled with anguish as he spoke, though he didn't move to acknowledge Tavros when the Varsity placed a slightly trembling hand on his shoulder. "All that ugly shit, that ain't me. It ain't me, it's not, it _can't_ be. Right?" He sounded so lost and confused that it made Tavros bite his lip.

"Um, that's not you." Tavros agreed softly. "Because, uh, you're my best bro, right?" Gamzee didn't move, but Tavros shook him lightly. A cold dread grew in his chest, settling right over his stomach; was he going to lose his best friend just because he he was terrified of everything? "Right?"

"Right, motherfucker." Gamzee repeated dutifully.

"Right." Tavros repeated shortly, taking a deep breath. The cold ache loosened when Gamzee spoke, though it didn't go away completely. "And, um, my best bros aren't...aren't like that. Right?" Gamzee nodded, looking like he was trying to think through his haze.

"Right." He said slowly, trying to comprehend what Tavros was getting at with what he was saying.

"So that's not you." Tavros decided, plopping himself down beside Gamzee despite his instinctual warning to get away. His heart pounding in his chest and in his head, Tavros watched Makara out of the corner of his eye to see what the Honors student would do. Gamzee was watching Tavros with a sort of awed wonder, reaching out to trace his fingers across Tavros's cheek. The Varsity let him, closing his eyes and fighting back his urge to flinch away.

Gamzee's fingers traced the soft skin of his cheek from his eye all the way down to his jaw; his touch was reverent, fleeting- - -gentle, as if he realized that if he screwed up now, the Makara would not get another chance with Tavros. And with his eyes closed, Tavros could pretend that Gamzee never went violent and scary.

"Motherfucking miracles." Gamzee breathed quietly, makimg Tavros smile.

It was the first time Tavros had ever been late for class, but it was worth it to be able to reassure both himself and Gamzee that they were still friends.


End file.
